


A Power To Poison Dreams

by Rhiannon_A_Christy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Dreams, F/M, Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-01 23:16:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 60,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2791277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhiannon_A_Christy/pseuds/Rhiannon_A_Christy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a power to poison dreams, a power to influence even the most powerful. It is the difference between chaos and insanity, to cross it is to never return. Loki finds himself torn between his lust for a throne and the love of a mortal woman. Two threads, one led to the subjugation of the universe, the other to Darcy Lewis. But which does he follow and which does he cut?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Preface

The room in which Loki found himself was quiet, all except for the echoing drip of water. There was very little light, and what there was seemed to glow off of the wet stone walls like white fire. There was something inherently wrong about the chamber, some dark energy that lapped at his ankles like small waves. He could taste it in the air, that bittersweet hatred that he was so familiar with.

He walked the perimeter of the room, his eyes taking in each and every detail, cataloging everything until he knew he would be able to recall the room even a hundred years later. Except for the taste of dark energy, the room was rather unremarkable. It was circular, making it most likely a tower in some fortress. It was built of a dark grey stone that was weathered with time and covered in moss. There was no furniture, no rugs or coverings of any sort. The only light came from a slim window some fifteen feet above him. All in all it was a rather boring room and Loki wondered why she had brought him there that night.

Loki knew the moment she entered the room, the air grew remarkably colder, and even more bitter. He didn't turn around, she brought him there and he refused to acknowledge her first.

"A dismal place, don't you agree?" Loki quashed the urge to roll his eyes, turning around to face the woman instead. She stood before him much as she had since she first started coming to him in his dreams several weeks before.

She was tall for a woman, but still short compared to him, only coming just above his chin. He couldn't deny that she was a beautiful woman, her body slim and covered only in a sheer white sheath. She had teased him every night with her delicately curving body, those full thighs, wide hips, and perfectly rounded pink topped breasts. He had wanted from the beginning to wrap the floor length white hair around his hand as he took control. Oh, what he could do to that woman, but he knew such a thing came with a price. One she had yet to reveal.

"It makes one wonder why you would choose a place such as this for our meeting. Hm?" She smiled, her shimmering pink lips spreading over perfect teeth. Loki knew a moment of wonder as her eyes, a grey so light they could almost appear white, glittered with a smirk.

"I guess I was in a bit of a dark mood tonight. I've been here all by my lonesome, it gives one time to dwell on the bad things." He felt a shiver climb up his spine at the way she spoke, as though speaking of one's lover.

"Really, Liadain? You couldn't think of even one thing to entertain you?" She laughed then, a quiet, breathy sound that went straight through Loki. Oh, yes, she was one very attractive woman.

"Oh, I did, but sadly you're not here." Liadain took a few steps closer, the sheer white sheath curling around her long legs. The two of them had been playing that particular game for a while, and while he had to admit it was entertaining, it was also time to find out just what exactly it was she wanted from him.

Loki was no fool, he knew that the woman he had been dreaming of was more than simply a figment of his imagination. His dreams were being manipulated by an outside force.

"As much fun as we've been having, I do believe it is time for a few answers." Liadain stopped in her tracks, her head cocked to the side as she looked at him.

"And what answers do you mean?" Loki leaned against the nearest wall, his arms crossed over his chest. He gave the appearance of total nonchalance, a talent he had learned very young.

"How about who you are, or why you keep coming to me? What is it that you want?" Liadain smiled wickedly and resumed her way over to him. She stopped when she was only a couple of feet in front of him, her sheath just brushing the tops of his boots.

"Oh, but you already know all of that. You are a very powerful being, Loki, but I am even more powerful. Together we could be great, unstoppable. I could give you everything you have ever dreamed of. A throne, a kingdom to rule, to be more than equal to your brother." Loki flinched when she called Thor his brother, but he shook it off and just looked down at her.

"I could free you from Asgard, from that infernal prison Odin believes can hold you. I can give you the Nine Realms on a platter." By the time she had finished, she was standing so close he could feel the heat of her body against his own.

"And just what would I have to do for you to give me such power?" Liadain lifted a hand up and ran it down his cheek in a tender, yet surprisingly cold, caress.

"Be mine, swear yourself to me and only me. Swear your body, your power, your mind. Join me and I will give you everything." She leaned up then, pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss. He pulled away before she could deepen it, and looked down at her with a raised brow.

"I shall have to think on it." Liadain tried to hide the frown that made its way across her lips, but Loki had seen it and inside he smirked. He had no plans on allowing her to control him like a puppet on a string, but he knew one thing. Liadain was the way to power, to gaining everything that he wanted.


	2. A Mother's Worry

Frigga's footsteps echoed off the walls as she walked down the hall that would lead her to a single door. She had visited many times since Thor had brought him back, though he rarely would respond. Not that she had expected much more with Loki, he was hurt and angry at all of them. He normally just spent the time staring at her with those wet green eyes.

The hall went quiet as she stopped, her hand raising up to slip a key into a slot in a simple door. She had taken great pains to ensure no one ever found out about the nature of her visits. She had refused to allow any guards to accompany her, claiming the need for a private audience with her son. She knew should Odin ever find out that she had stolen a key to the cell so she could visit Loki up close, it would be her head.

She turned and clicked the key, walking up into the cell as soon as the door opened. As she always did, she hid the key within the folds of her dress. She knew had he wanted to, Loki would have been able to find them, but so far he hadn't even tried.

She pulled a set of curtains over the glass wall, ensuring that passersby would be unable to see what was happening behind them. She turned to look at her wayward son, and couldn't help the small smile that spread over her face. He had his back to her, curled up in a tight ball as he slept. It was so reminiscent of him as a little boy that she felt a pain shoot through her chest. Many times when he and Thor had been young she would steal away into their room and just watch them sleep. She had known they were perfectly safe, but a Mother's worry is never quashed.

She took a few steps closer to Loki, her hand reaching out to rest on his shoulder. Sitting down on the side of the bed, she leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. It didn't matter how old he was, what he had done, he was still her son.

She sat up fully as he stirred in his sleep, turning to lie flat on his back. He turned his head about this way and that, his eyes held tightly together as he walked through a dream. She smoothed the hair across his brow, her hand resting on his jaw.

"Liadain….." Frigga froze, her heart stopping momentarily before racing at great speed. That was a name she hadn't heard in many years, a name she hoped would never again be uttered in her presence. Liadain, the Monster of Midgard. Frigga fought the panic in her breast as Loki murmured the horrid woman's name again and again. Unable to bear it any longer, she leaned down and grabbed his shoulders and shook him forcefully.

"Loki! Loki wake up!" His eyes shot quickly open, surprise showing in them at having been awoken by his frantic mother. He opened his mouth to ask her what exactly she thought she was doing, but her hysterical words stopped him.

"Where did you hear that name?! Loki, where?!" Frigga was practically crying as she yelled at him, her whole body shaking. Loki just sat up, adjusting himself on the uncomfortable bed.

"First of all Mother, calm down. I can barely understand you when you flail about like that. Second, I have no idea what you are talking about. What name?" Frigga took a moment to calm, her breathing slowing until she could talk to him without yelling.

"Liadain. Loki, where did you hear it?" Loki had to hide his surprise at hearing his mother utter that woman's name. He had not once told anyone about the dreams he had been having, not the guards, not Odin or Thor, no one.

"What makes you think I have ever heard that name before now?" Loki smirked a bit as Frigga rolled her eyes, his mother was finally calmed down it seemed.

"You were muttering it in your sleep. Now, truthfully, where?" Loki thought about denying it, but it would have been rather stupid at that point to do so. Much like a child denying he ate the pie when the pudding was all over his face.

"I think it is rather obvious as I spoke it while asleep." The fear on his mother's face was enough to shock him. Frigga may have looked breakable, but she was strong and afraid of very little.

"How long has she been visiting you? This is very important Loki." It shouldn't have surprised him, but he felt himself stop at his mother's wording. Not, how long had he been having the dreams, but how long had she been visiting.

"It has been several weeks since she first entered my dreams." Frigga stood from the bed, pacing a few seconds before turning back to him.

"What do you dream about when she comes?" He looked away from her, not sure he should say anything at all. He was already in enough trouble for the things he had done, he didn't need to be punished for the things he hadn't. When he continued to ignore her, Frigga grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him again.

"This is so very important, Loki. You have no idea how much danger you are in. Please….please." Frigga slipped her hands up so she was cupping his face, her eyes boring into his.

"At first they had been vague, I could only see this shape, more like a shadow of a woman, and white, like snow. I could hear a voice, but never make out the words. Over time I could see her form, tall and beautiful. Eyes like the clouds of a morning storm and hair like fine bleached silk.

"In the beginning she told me how sorry she was about what was happening to me, that she understood my pain. They became darker then, the overall scene as well as the feel. Liadain started telling me about how much power I could have, what she could give me.

"It wasn't long before she became possessive, calling me her own. She told me that if I promised myself to her she would release me from this prison. That she would give me great power, make me king." Frigga let go of Loki, her hands slowly slipping from his face as she turned white as a sheet.

"What matter is this? Liadain is nothing more than some hopeful sorceress, surely no match for me." Frigga shook her head at her son. He might not have realized it, but he was just as boastful as his brother. He always took the opportunity to showcase his abilities, a magic trick here, an illusion there.

"You have always acted so sure of yourself, so ready to believe that no one could ever be stronger, more cunning than you. Don't you see, Loki, you have been beaten before, and by mere mortals. You let your ego get in the way, jump in head first. But not this time, you hear me, I won't allow you to do it this time.

"Liadain is powerful, much more so than even your father. I fear the danger you are in now that she has taken notice of you." She gave him a sorrowful smile before standing up to pace. Loki said nothing as she began to mumble Liadain's name and something about weavers. Liadain seemed to have really spooked Frigga, but surely she was no match for him, no matter what his mother said.

Soon enough Frigga stopped her pacing, her face set, eyes and mouth hard as she looked to her youngest son.

"You must never give into Liadain, never agree to anything the woman says, you will be in mortal danger if you did. Now, I will be back, I must speak with your father." Frigga ignored the undignified snort Loki sent her way when she referred to Odin as his father. She didn't have the time to deal with such displays of petty childishness, she had a son to save, and therefore the universe.

* * *

Not thinking on anything else but how to protect her son from Liadain, Frigga didn't hear the raised voices in the throne room until she had fully entered it. She watched a few moments and wondered where everything had gone wrong. Her family once loved each other.

"I understand, but Thor what you are wanting to do is far beyond what I did. Help if you wish when some force beyond Midgard threatens them, but you must allow them to deal with their own threats." Frigga sighed, she loved her husband, but he could be a bit of a hypocrite.

"Father, the enemies on Midgard grow far faster than their warriors do. If I do not assist they could very well destroy themselves."

"Then let them." Realizing that if she didn't put a stop to the argument now they would be having to repair the throne room…again.

"If you two would please….we have a bigger problem than Thor interfering with another realm's development." Both the men in the room stopped what they were doing and looked over at the source of their interruption.

"We have talked about this, what Loki has done is beyond mere forgiveness. He must be punished for his crimes, son or no son." Frigga fought the snarl that she felt rise up in her. She understood, of course she did, but Odin regularly forgot that she was a mother first and foremost. She knew deep down that she would forgive her sons anything.

"Maybe you should have allowed me to continue before you spoke." She lifted a brow at Odin, making him squirm just a little. People always underestimated the power of a wife.

"Then what is the problem?" Her brow fell as she took a few more steps into the room.

"Liadain." Odin paled at the mention of the name, stepping back until he could sit down on the steps of the dais. Thor was taken aback at how his parents were acting. He had seen them conversing about politics many times, but never had anything his mother had to say bothered his father as much as that one name.

"What are you talking about? A woman?" Frigga ignored Thor, looking straight at Odin instead.

"Loki has been dreaming of Liadain, she is calling for him." Odin didn't say anything, just sat there staring out into space.

"This is all your fault, you understand that, don't you? You created Loki, created what he has become. Now his power has attracted Liadain, and with the way Loki is now we could all be in great trouble." Frigga's words knocked Odin out of his stupor. He stood and advanced on her until he stood almost toe to toe with his angry wife.

"It is not my fault, Loki is the one that paved the way to his own fate." Frigga glared at him, her hand itching to raise and smack him across the face.

"You know as well as I do, that that is not true. He had a part in it, yes, he didn't have to choose to do what he did. But Odin, it was you, even Thor and myself, that set him on that path. Now we could all very well pay for it." Her words were a bit harsh, but she knew they were true. She had spent many a night since Loki first betrayed their family trying to find that one moment where everything went wrong. What she found instead were a series of events contributed by all of them that had set everything in motion.

"What are you talking about? Who is Liadain, why is she so dangerous?" Thor had grown tired of being ignored. It was typical when it came to matters between his parents, but this also involved his brother and he wanted to be informed. Frigga pulled her gaze from her husband to look at her oldest.

"Liadain is a member of a race known as the Weavers. They are elf like creatures, one of the two original races of Midgard. They once flourished there, living in secret, hidden away only known to the mortals in their stories. At least until Odin banished them from the realm. Liadain was the reason." Thor turned quickly on his feet to send his father a glare.

"How could you have gotten mad at me for my involvement with the Avengers, when you've done such things as banish a race from their own realm?" Odin sent a look towards Frigga, one that clearly said that he didn't appreciate her help at all. Not that she really cared at the moment, there were much more important things.

"Thor, don't start with your father. Right now what he has done in the past and his hypocrisy do not matter. What does is shielding Loki from Liadain, because if she gets her hands on him, is able to control his power, we are all doomed. Not just Asgard, but the whole of the Nine Realms. Liadain is not just powerful, but truly evil, her crimes are far worse than anything Loki has ever done." Thor cringed, his brother had done some pretty terrible things. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what could be worse.

"What exactly is she doing? What danger does she pose to us?" Frigga glanced at Odin before turning back to her son.

"The Weavers…Liadain has the power to enter dreams and influence a person. She has entered Loki's dreams, she is trying to ply him with words of power, telling him that she will free him. That if he joins her she will make him a king." Frigga tried to hide her fear, should Liadain get to him he would end up nothing more than a Puppet King of the dead.

"It is a lost cause then? Loki surely will take the chance to gain power, power and a throne that he believes belongs to him." There was no doubt in Thor's mind, he loved his brother, but he knew what he was like. He doubted that Loki would give up the chance to hold such a power.

"He better not! Liadain is not what she seems, she is promising him power and a throne but if he sides with her all he will get is pain and suffering. He will become nothing more than a puppet that she would destroy in the end. No, Liadain must never be allowed to get her claws into Loki." In a moment of weakness, Frigga allowed her calm to fade. She took a deep breath at the look her son was giving her and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What are we to do then?" What could they possibly do to keep Loki safe, to ensure that Liadain could never get her hands on him?

"The only thing we can do, hide Loki. The Weavers are powerful, but they do have weaknesses. Liadain most likely found Loki through his magic, coupled with the fact that she knew the most likely place he would be." Who knew how long she had actually been tracking Loki, when she had first noticed him?

"He will have to be sent to Midgard. The Weavers can not return there because of the banishment. It would be the last place Liadain would think we would send him. Not mention the amount of mortals on the planet would be enough to shield him while we seek help." Thor felt a sense of dread well up within him. The last time that Loki had been on Midgard things hadn't gone very well.

"It would be the best, but Loki would not be able to use his magic." Something that Odin knew would not go over well with his son. They would have to bind his magic just as they had done in his cell.

"Even with his magic bound, I'm not sure sending Loki to Midgard would be wise Father. Though he favors it, he does not need magic to get himself into mischief." Odin turned to Thor, looking at him as though he had forgotten he was even standing there for a moment.

"We shall just have to make sure that he is unable to cause any trouble, now won't we? You will accompany your brother to Midgard. You will watch over him, protect him from both the mortals and himself.

"You will also have to have your powers bound in order that Liadain doesn't find Loki through you." Frigga walked over to her oldest son when she noticed the pinched look on his face, and put a hand on his arm.

"This is important, Thor. Not just because you love your brother, but because the whole of the Nine Realms is in danger." Thor sighed, it wasn't going to Midgard that he had a problem with. No, he would gladly go knowing there was a chance to see Jane again. It was the binding of his powers that he found distasteful. Though he had survived it once before, he could again.

"Of course I will do it. I never would have refused." Frigga nodded and smiled, patting his shoulder before walking to stand beside Odin.

"We should make ready, because with what Loki has told me, we have no time to waste."

* * *

Thor and Loki stood along the remains of the Bifrost, Loki was once again in cuffs, but this time the gag was absent. The scene made Frigga shiver, it was too much like the one she had witnessed when Thor brought his brother back. Only this time the enemy was a far greater threat than their own dark prince.

"Understand this, this is not a permanent solution. Liadain will be blocked for only so long before she finds a way back to Loki. You two must lay low until we are able to neutralize the threat. Because of this I have bound both of your powers, they will only be returned to you if you are in grave danger and have need of them." Frigga watched the hard lines form on the faces of both of her sons. She knew they resented what their father was doing, but it was the only way to buy them time. Wanting to stop any argument or snide comment, she quickly walked to Loki and embraced him. He stiffened in her arms, but she held on, her lips pressed to his ear so only he could hear her.

"You need to listen to me, My Son. Don't allow Liadain to get to you, no matter what. I love you and can't stand the thought of what will happen if that woman gets to you. Believe me, she is nothing like you have ever encountered. Please, please Loki, do not give in. Come back to me." She kissed his cheek, lingering until she felt Loki soften just the slightest. When she pulled back she could see, for just a moment, the little boy she had raised as her own. The sweet child that had been so misunderstood, who had run to hide in her skirts when he was teased. It was that child why she would never give up on Loki.

She stood back and gave a hug and kiss to Thor before stepping back to allow Odin to send them to Midgard. The two of them were silent for several moments after their sons were gone. It was Frigga who finally broke the silence.

"We must contact Rhonwen and Bronwen. They are the only ones able to help us." It had been many years since she had seen the twins, not since the Weavers had been banished actually.

"Do you think it wise? What with Liadain being their cousin." Frigga shook her head and turned to head back towards the palace.

"Come now, they were the ones that had contacted you for help in banishing Liadain in the first place, do you really think they would have changed their views? No, the twins are nothing like their cousin. They are also the only ones that have the necessary power to destroy Liadain." Odin clenched his jaw, he didn't like to be reminded of the particular powers of the Weavers. He was not used to coming up against a foe he couldn't eventually subdue.

"Alright, but do you know how to contact them?" Frigga gave him a weak smile as she continued walking.

"I have always known."


	3. Reunions And First Meetings

The two brothers took a moment to look around once they had landed. Though Odin had never said a word, they both had believed that they would return to New York, and thus the Avengers. So it was to some surprise that they found themselves standing in the middle of a desert.

"Thor?" Loki raised a brow at his brother as Thor just started off without a word. That had always been typical of him, rushing headlong into a situation without thinking. Loki had always followed along, but back then he at least knew where they had been and were going.

"Come along Loki, best we make it there before dark." It seemed Thor was just as unobservant as he had been when they were younger.

"That is all and well, Thor, but just where is it that we should be getting to before dark?" Thor stopped in his tracks, turning to give Loki a look. As though Loki had lost his head.

"We are in the Midgardian realm known as New Mexico. This is the town you once sent the Destroyer to…" Thor looked thoughtful for a moment, and it took only a second for Loki to understand why. The mortal woman.

"I know where we are, what I was asking, dear _brother,_ is where we are headed? As you seem so sure of our destination." Thor smiled then, big and wide, like he used to before everything happened between them.

"To find Jane, of course!" Loki felt like rolling his eyes. Thor was hopeless. He had always been an idiot when it came to women, but he had never seen him thus. The mortal Jane had turned Thor into a true fool, weak and simpering like a mewling calf.

"Of course. Do you not think it would be best if you removed my binds? I'm not sure, but I doubt the mortals will find it very reassuring to see a man in chains walking through their village." Of course he also wasn't sure what they would think about their garb, as they were in full battle regalia.

Thor looked confused for a moment, and Loki just sighed as he lifted his still bound hands before them.

"Oh, yes, that would be a strange and uncomforting sight." He said no more as he walked back and carefully unlocked the cuffs around Loki's wrists. The moment the lock on the last cuff clicked the cuffs vanished, and Loki did roll his eyes. Odin did love his theatrics; he could have had the cuffs vanish the moment they landed on Midgard. Instead he made sure that Loki had to _ask_ Thor.

"It seems _Father_ has thought of everything." Thor sighed and ran a hand through his hair. When had things between them gone wrong? He wanted to know what moment had changed their relationship forever. So maybe, maybe he could find a way to return there and change it back.

"Do you have to say it like that?" Loki sneered and marched ahead of him, his right hand absently rubbing at his left.

"How should I say it then? He is not my father, you are not my brother. I am not even of Asgard." Thor bound forward, keeping his strides even with Loki's.

"And yet you have never called Mother anything else." Loki stopped for a moment, before clenching his jaw and continuing on.

* * *

The day had been like any other for Darcy. In other words, boring. She had hoped that after everything with Thor, and then what had happened in New York, working with Jane would actually be exciting. But nope, it was the same old, same old. As it had been in the days preThor. So it was a surprise when she just happened to look out the window and see two very strangely dressed men walking their way.

"Um, Jane? Jane!" From across the room Jane made some sort of snorting sound before mumbling out a 'shut up Darcy.'

"Would you get your nose out of that science crap for a moment? I think we have visitors." Jane huffed and clicked off of the screen she had opened on her computer.

"What? I just talked to S.H.I.E.L.D. yesterday. They shouldn't be sending anyone out here, not when I told them that I hadn't found anything new." Fury had been on her case lately, he wanted results. Annoyed, she had finally yelled at him that out of everyone, no one wanted results more than her. There had been silence on the line before Fury had told her to work faster in a clipped tone. Darcy had just laughed beside her, making some joke about the S.H.I.E.L.D director.

"No, a different kind of visitor. The long distance kind….very, very long distance." Jane looked at Darcy kind of funny before snapping her head up to look out the window. The moment she saw the familiar blonde hair and glint of silver armor she was out the door. Darcy followed her laughing as Jane actually jumped into Thor's arms. It was like a freaking movie. Thor even twirled her around a couple of times before setting her down and kissing her, indecently.

Darcy just rolled her eyes; it wouldn't have surprised her at all if she needed to spray them down with a hose. She looked past the slobbering lovers, her eyes landing on someone no one ever wanted to see on Earth again. Loki. She raked her eyes from the top of his coal black head to the tip of his leather encased toes. The man was just about as fine as they came, too bad that pretty head of his held so much crazy.

Darcy had seen what little video footage there was of Loki from his attack on New York, but that had been grainy and very unsteady. Now, standing in front of her, Darcy wondered how anyone could have ever believed that the two were brothers. Loki was slim, svelte, like a runner, where Thor was freaking built like a bodybuilder. All bulging muscles. It was not just in their size that they differed, Thor had a face that was round, as though he hadn't lost all his baby fat. Loki on the other hand was sharp, smooth angles that looked carved in marble. There was also something dark about Loki, something that hung about him that just felt sinister. It made Darcy shiver.

"You know, the whole goth/emo thing was so nineteen-nineties." Darcy smirked as Loki seemed to stand just a little bit taller. Ok, so it was a stupid idea to provoke a mass murdering maniac, but she felt assured of her safety with Thor there. Well, if he would ever get his tongue out of Jane's throat that is.

"I am Loki of Asgard, and you should show me respect." The sneer Loki sent her way seemed powerful enough to set her on fire. She shivered again; she really hoped that wasn't one of his powers. She wasn't a fan of heat. Funny really that she chose to work in the desert.

Shaking off his Stare of Doom, Darcy just rolled her eyes once more and turned to Thor. Thankfully it looked like his and Jane's game of tonsil hockey had finally ended.

"Hey, Big Guy, why did you think it was a good idea to bring your bat-shit crazy brother with you? Not that we're not happy to see you and all, but seriously, we do not inflict crazy family members on our friends. I'd never invite you to dinner with my insane Aunt Mable." Darcy couldn't help but laugh to herself. Aunt Mable was just about as crazy as they came; the woman talked to herself at all hours of the day and kept little jars with bits of dirt in them all around her house. Darcy figured it was all her cats; lots of cats had a tendency to make people crazy.

Loki opened his mouth, as though to respond, but before he could say anything Thor waved his hand to cut him off.

"Jane, Darcy, could we go inside? We have much to discuss."

* * *

The "kitchen" area of Jane's lab glowed with the few florescent lights that remained in the building. The small table, well table was a rather ambitious word to use for the small round object, was surrounded by three of the rooms occupants. The fourth was leaning against the wall looking sullenly down into his cup of coffee.

Darcy couldn't help the grin that crossed her face as she watched Loki. Unlike his brother, who was happily drinking from his own cup of liquid heaven, Loki seemed distrustful of the stuff. He had sniffed it, causing him to pull away momentarily before leaning back down to stare into the black abyss. She almost laughed as he dipped in a finger, swishing it about, a frown on his face the entire time.

"It's not going to jump out of the cup and eat you, if that is what you are afraid of." Darcy allowed herself to giggle as Loki sent her a glare. It wasn't so much a hateful look, as much as it was one of reproach. As though Darcy should have known not to voice such a comment.

"I'm not the one that should be afraid of being eaten." Loki's glare swiftly turned predatory, his lips curling up into a smirk that allowed one of his sharp teeth to peek out from beneath red lips.

Darcy's cheeks pinked at Loki's comment as much as the look on his face. She was sure he hadn't meant it as her mind had interpreted it, but Darcy lived in Gutterland most of the time and so his words sent an electric shock straight through her. She swallowed hard, looking down into her own cup as she clenched her thighs tightly together.

Loki lifted a brow as he watched the effect of his words on the mortal. It was interesting. He was sure had he said the same thing to Thor's Jane he would have gotten a very different reaction. In fact he was sure he would have gotten the reaction he had actually been going for; fear. Instead the mortal woman flushed, not with embarrassment or fright, but arousal. It was…flattering, and Loki would also readily admit it was fun.

He watched as the mortal woman clenched her thighs together, hoping to elevate the ache he had caused, and pulled his cup to his lips. He took a sip of the black liquid and promptly spat it out.

"I am beginning to wonder if you mortals have any taste buds at all. This swill tastes like river mud." That was probably the nicest description of the horrid stuff. The coffee not only looked unpalatable, but it tasted it as well. It was bitter and muddy, and left an aftertaste on his tongue worse than horse shit. Which thanks to Thor and his friends, he had an intimate knowledge of.

"You have always been too picky about what you eat, Brother. I like this drink." Thor finished his statement by lifting his cup and completely draining the coffee. Thankfully he didn't smash his cup on the floor.

"And you, _Brother_ , have never been picky at all. The fact that you ate and actually enjoyed anything that Sif made attests to that." Loki looked once more down into his cup before setting it on the counter beside him. Nothing, not even the promise of the Throne of Asgard, could get him to take another drink of that swill.

"Not that this isn't interesting, but isn't it about time you two told us just what you are doing back on Earth?" Darcy kept her eyes on Thor, there was still a bit of tingling down below and she feared that it would show on her face if she looked at Loki.

Thor set his cup down on the table, his hand lifting to wipe at his mouth. He was stalling a bit, and Darcy wondered just what had happened that could cause the normally cheerful god to look so serious.

"We are…we are in hiding. Or, well, Loki is in hiding and I have been sent as guard." Thor refused to look at his brother, knowing just what he would find if he did.

"He means as my warden, to make sure I don't do something stupid. At least get it right, Thor. You make it sound as though you were sent to protect me, when we both know Odin sent you to protect others from me." Loki sneered at Thor. He was no fool, he knew the reason Thor had been sent had little to do with Odin's love for him, and everything to do with his fear that Loki would call out to Liadain. He feared the power Loki could gain, and believed Thor could actually stop him.

"I am not your warden, Loki." Thor wanted to believe what he spoke was truth, but he knew Loki was right. Their father wanted Thor to protect the mortals from his brother, to, as Loki had said, make sure he didn't do something stupid.

"So who did Loki piss off that has sent him in hiding?" Darcy wasn't sure how she felt about Asgard using Earth as a hiding place for their insane prince. They had already had enough damage from the two times Loki had shown up; they really didn't need someone that was a danger to the dude coming to Earth.

"What colorful language you have, do all mortal women speak so coarsely?" Loki would admit that he just wanted to see how the girl would react. Sif spoke just as coarsely as any man; he had even heard his own mother curse once or twice as a child.

"Loki, please. Now is not the time." Thor looked between his brother and Darcy; it might have been a bad idea to allow the two to meet.

"Thor, why are you two here? I'm very happy to see you, but Loki is a wanted war criminal here, why bring him some place that would be a danger to him?" Jane reached across the table and placed her hand over one of his. She had a feeling if she didn't direct the conversation they would never get to the point.

"The danger that follows Loki is a far greater one than your warriors could ever dream of being. In all of the Nine Realms, Midgard is the safest place.

"There is a woman, Liadain, who possesses great power. She was attracted to Loki's own power, and searched him out. She has entered his dreams, offering him power and a throne, if only he should join her. She means to use him, and if she were to gain his power she would use it as a means to conquer the Nine Realms." Thor looked over towards his brother, his heart sinking as he watched the emotions playing out on his face. Loki didn't fully believe their mother, that Liadain wouldn't hold her promise to him, that she would destroy him in the end. The lure of power, of a throne and a kingdom to rule was a powerful one for Loki.

"Alright, so no one wants our little madman to join with the crazy bitch, but I still don't see how sending him here could help. We have some pretty bad ass superheros, but I doubt any of them would be any help if those two joined forces." Darcy was really beginning to wonder how many aliens were crazy villains hell bent on ruling the universe.

"Midgard is the only place in the Nine Realms that is safe. The Weavers, the race from which Liadain is from, cannot enter here. Father had placed a banishment on the race many years ago. Though if she were to find him here, she would in time find a way past the barrier. That is why we have both had our powers bound. Without our powers to trace, it will be harder for her to find Loki." Thor cringed internally at that last thing. He had survived before without his powers, but that didn't mean he ever wanted to do it again. He felt naked without his hammer and his strength. It was a feeling he did not care for.

Jane and Darcy were quiet after Thor finished. There was someone out there worse than Loki, someone that wanted to use him to take over the Nine Realms. It was a scary thought, even scarier with the knowledge that Loki was on Earth and could in the end lead Liadain straight to their planet.

"What do you plan to do then?" Jane pushed her cup around slowly on the table. She understood what Thor had said, but was it too much to ask that he showed up just once for her and only her? That she wasn't just a secondary thought, or simply forgotten altogether?

"They're going to stay with us, duh!" Darcy rolled her eyes as Jane gave her a funny look. The woman was smart, but sometimes she looked past the obvious.

"Oh come on, besides the fact that you and Thor have been making googly eyes all this time; and I doubt either of you really want to be away from each other; the fact is it would be stupid to do anything else.

"Thor and Loki don't have their powers, and they're not familiar enough with Earth to take off on their own. And the Avengers are too high profile. No one but a select few know about your connection, but everyone knows about Thor and the Avengers. The fact is that if this Liadain is so powerful, even if she can't get to Earth, it stands to reason that some way she may have been able to find out something about Thor and the Avengers and put two and two together and find Loki." She doubted the woman watched tv, but if she had been able to find Loki on Asgard, had been able to enter his dreams, she would know about the Avengers. New Mexico would be a blip on the radar compared to New York.

"The mortal does have a point." Loki gazed at the girl, she really wasn't too bad looking for a mortal.

"Mortal?! Mortal?! Would you stop calling me that?!" Darcy stood up, glaring at Loki as he just continued to lean against the wall. She wanted to advance on him, shove her face in his and demand he use her name, but Thor coming to stand at her side, his arm out, stopped her.

"Loki meant nothing by it, you two have just not been introduced yet." Thor sent his brother a look, hoping he wouldn't say anything. He knew Loki had been trying to rile Darcy up, though he wasn't sure why. He set his arm down and turned to his brother.

"Brother, this is Darcy Lewis of Midgard." Thor breathed a silent sigh of relief when Loki just nodded.

"Darcy, this is my brother, Loki, Prince of Asgard." Thor almost feared that Darcy would do something as she advanced on his brother, but thankfully she just held her hand out to shake.

Loki looked down at the small mortal woman in front of him, and carefully took her tiny hand in his. With the same smirk he had sent her earlier, he lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to her knuckles before turning her hand over and pressing a kiss to the inside of her wrist.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Darcy Lewis of Midgard." Loki watched with delight as the color returned full force to the girl's cheeks. He might have been stuck on that horrid planet without his powers, but maybe he could still have a bit of fun.

Jane watched with wide eyes at the two across the room. She had never seen Darcy so flustered, or pink cheeked. She cleared her throat, bringing everyone's attention to her.

"Yes, well Darcy is correct, I guess." She looked at Loki and Darcy again, and cringed when Darcy rolled her eyes at her. Darcy knew of course the only reason she was hesitating was because she didn't want to be around Loki. Darcy shook her head slightly as though to say 'too bad.'

Darcy pulled her hand from Loki's too warm embrace, and took a few steps away. She understood how Jane felt, but it was obvious that Thor loved his brother, and Darcy didn't think Thor would take too kindly to Jane throwing him out. She would just have to play nice for her boyfriend's sake. Darcy on the other hand, she could do whatever she wanted. Thor was a friend, but she didn't extend friendships to include putting up with asshole family members. Though she figured she would reserve judgment when it came to Loki, as so far the only thing he had done was call her mortal, but he had corrected himself once he had learned her name.

Darcy clapped her hands together, looking between the three others in the room.

"Well, we should get something set up for sleeping then. Thor, I figure you will most likely end up staying with Jane in her trailer, so I guess that means that Loki will be staying in the lab." She looked right at him and pointed a finger right in his face.

"You better not snore, as I sleep in the lab as well, and I have no problem putting a pillow on your face and sitting on it." She glared at him with all her might, but he just gave her an evil grin.

"I have no objection with that, but I do have a request. It would be much better without the pillow." Oh yes, he was going to have plenty of fun. He watched as Darcy blushed wildly before taking off muttering about finding another cot and bedding.

Jane shook her head at Loki, a little red faced herself, Loki looked pleased with himself and Thor just sat there a moment trying to figure out what his brother hand meant.

"Brother why would you like Lady Darcy to….Loki! That was inappropriate!" Thor blinked as Loki just shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't that he had never seen his brother flirt, but he had never imagined he would flirt with a mortal woman.

"I'm not the one that made the suggestion. I just improved upon it." Loki waved a hand in the air, acting as though he hadn't said anything wrong.

Thor couldn't help it, he laughed a little. Loki hadn't acted in such a way with him in a very long time. Maybe, just maybe all of this could turn out to be a good thing.

Jane huffed as she looked between the two brothers, before going to help Darcy. Men, human or not they were all the same.

* * *

The lab was dark, the only light coming from outside the glass walls that made up the entire front of the building, and the lone digital clock not five feet away from the lab's only occupants. Darcy glanced over towards the clock, her eyes resting on the bright red 1:00 on the clock's face. She blinked a couple of times before lying her head back down. She could hear Loki breathing only a few feet away, it was soft and calm, and not the sound of someone asleep.

It was weird; when she had decided to take a full time job with Jane she hadn't thought she would be sharing a sleeping space with the god of mischief. Actually she hadn't thought she would be sharing a sleeping space with any god. Ok, so that wasn't really true. She had on occasion, ok at least three times a week, fantasized about sharing a bed with Thor. It wasn't that she was in love with him or anything like that, or that she would attempt to take him away from Jane, but damn if that man wasn't built like a fucking sex god. She wanted to strip him down, cover him in chocolate, and eat him completely up.

"You best go to sleep; I don't feel like putting up with a grumpy mortal in the morning." Loki's voice was smooth; his murmured words no louder than a cricket's chirp.

"You best as well, I mean, I don't want to deal with a grumpy god in the morning." Darcy sat up in her bed, looking over to Loki the best she could without her glasses. Her eyes weren't that bad, but in the darkness of the lab Loki was little more than a green/black/white blur.

Loki was silent after her statement, something she found shocking as she had expected him to snap at her for presuming to speak thusly to a god and prince of Asgard. Instead he continued to lie upon his cot, his eyes closed. Something hit Darcy then, a realization that actually shocked her.

"Are you scared to sleep because of the dreams?" It seemed a silly thing, that Loki, God of Mischief, would be frightened of such a thing. Yet, it also made perfect sense.

"I'm afraid of nothing!" Loki sat up then, the thin sheet he had pulled over himself, sliding down to rest in his lap.

"It's alright, if you are you know. When I was a little girl I had been in a car accident and had watched my grandmother die. I had nightmares for over a year after that. At one point it got so bad I would stay awake for as long as I could during the night, because I feared them. Even now I will get them every now and then, and wake up in a sweat.

"There is nothing wrong with not wanting to deal with such things. If you are scared I won't judge you." Darcy waited as Loki just sat there. She wondered if anyone had ever told him that before, him or Thor, that it was alright to be scared sometimes.

"Go to sleep before _I'm_ the one that smothers _you_." Loki laid himself back down on the cot, pulling the sheet back up over his chest. He closed his eyes, but listened as Darcy sighed and whispered a quiet goodnight.

Loki remained awake for a while longer; listening as the mortal woman across from him finally fell into a calm sleep. He would never admit it, to Darcy or anyone, but he was frightened. At least a little. Afraid of what he would do should Liadain find him again.

Oh, he was tempted by her offer. She spoke of great power, of vast kingdoms to rule all over the nine realms. A part of him wanted to reach out to her and accept her, to join her and rule over all. What held him back was the fear on his mother's face. There was something she was not telling him about Liadain, something that scared her. And if something frightened Frigga, Queen of Asgard, then it was indeed worthy of fear.

Turning his head, he looked towards the mortal woman. A child really when compared to his own age. She was strange, and he found that it intrigued him. She wasn't frightened of him, or even wary, unlike Thor's Jane. She had even been the one to suggest they stay there, with them in the lab. It was not a reaction he normally received from mortals that knew who and what he was.

He shook himself out of those thoughts and turned his head away from the fascinating creature. He closed his eyes once more, wondering just what awaited him in slumber.


	4. Mr. Frost

Three days had passed with little to no fanfare, still Loki found himself on edge. Though Liadain had yet to find him; his rest nightmare free for the first time in months; he knew it wouldn't last. At some point she would find him again and sing her siren song. Oh, how he could taste that power. He craved it like food to a starving man. The only thing at that point keeping him from calling out to the temptress were the whispered words his mother had spoken to him before they had left for Midgard. Loki knew he was walking on a very thin line, he knew one day he would fall, but not which side he would end up on.

He spent most of his time by himself, not particularly by design either. Thor kept his Jane company while she worked, and the mortal Darcy had her own work, leaving Loki to his own devices. Though, Loki mused, he had often seen her staring blankly at the wall as though bored with her task. He wondered why she would subject herself to the tedium of a job she obviously had no interest in.

Loki found himself smiling as he thought about the day before. He had, out of pure boredom, asked her that very question. He had expected something to the effect of loyalty to Jane, maybe that the pay was good, but her answer had been neither.

* * *

_Darcy had been, as usual, sitting at her desk. Well, desk was a bit of an overstatement. The thing was actually a small side table that she had salvaged from the side of the road one day. It was old and mostly broken, having two of it's four legs shorter than the others. The top, which Loki suspected had once been a beautiful piece of polished cherry, had been chipped and worn down with age. Not that she really cared, she had told him when he had commented on it, she needed something to place all of her work on, and Jane had taken every other available space in the lab. Sometimes that even included the little kitchen table. Another one of Darcy's finds._

_She had been typing away, well maybe not so much typing as absently tapping random keys while staring blankly across the lab, when Loki had become bored enough that the idea of conversing with a mortal actually sounded entertaining. He had propped himself up against the side of her desk, crossing both arms and legs and watched her type out the words: "frustrated, bored, fuck, and built like sex," before he spoke._

_"You seem to have little interest in astrophysics, why bother with all of this? Surely you would rather perform a job in which you actually enjoy the subject." Loki watched amused as Darcy stopped typing mid-word, to focus on him._

_She blinked a few times, before smiling and shrugging her shoulders._

_"Of course, who doesn't want to be doing what they enjoy? But, what once was seen can not be unseen, you know?" Darcy gave another little shrug and turned back to her typing._

_"What is that suppose to mean?" Loki had uncrossed his arms, placing one hand down on the table beside her own._

_"Well, now that I know that aliens are real, I just can't imagine going to work in some mind numbing job." A small smile appeared on her face, just a little one really, a simple lifting of the right corner of her lips._

_"Is not what you are doing now mind numbing?" He leaned in a little more, watching as her little smile grew just slightly._

_"Well, yeah, but there are times when it's not. Like now for instance, I mean I'm living with a fucking alien god. I just can't see that happening in any other job, besides SHIELD. Which I won't ever be doing, thank you very much!" Her smile grew until she was actually chuckling. Loki found it odd, and a little disconcerting, that he couldn't help but laugh along with her._

_"A 'fucking' alien god….quite a way of putting it." He couldn't help himself as he leaned further down, his face only inches from hers. He was rewarded for his efforts when Darcy's milky cheeks turned bright red and her breathing quickened._

_"Definitely an interesting way of putting it, wouldn't you say?" Loki laughed lowly as he walked away, he wasn't sure why, but he enjoyed getting the mortal all hot and bothered._

* * *

Loki wasn't laughing anymore though, he was anything but jovial. He was currently trying to figure out the mortal device known as a computer. He scowled at the screen in front of him, as though he could force it to work by sheer will alone.

It wasn't that he actually wanted to learn the technology, and that might actually be one of the reasons why he was having trouble working the stupid thing, but Darcy had assured him that the computer would be the best thing for his needs.

He had been wanting to look up any and all information he could find on the Weavers on Midgard. There had to be something regarding them in mortal myth, some half remembered stories passed down from before the banishment.

He had approached Darcy, the mortal woman being the only one tolerable in his opinion, about where such information could be found. She had gone off then to explain to him about computers, the internet and a bunch of things that Loki had never heard of. It seemed that Midgard had developed a lot more over the years than any of them really knew. The only thing was, he couldn't figure out the stupid contraption, and the only thing keeping him from throwing it out the window was that he knew that Darcy would get annoyed at him. Which actually annoyed him and made him want to throw the thing even more.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned to find the object of his thoughts pulling on her favorite hoodie. Loki hated the thing, it was a shapeless garment in the most repulsive shade of drab gray. He longed for the ability to change its shape and color with a simple flick of his wrist.

"And where might you be off to? Surely the lingering looks of longing from our companions have not sent you off running." Loki nodded his head towards the other two that occupied the lab. It was sickening really, Loki thought, watching the two practically eye-fuck in front of them.

Darcy laughed and smoothed back her mussed up hair. Loki was somewhat thankful that she hadn't flung the hood of the ugly garment over her head.

"I need to run down to the store, because we've run out of a few things. Thor drinks more coffee then even Jane, and that is saying something, believe me." She huffed a bit, causing her cheeks to puff out slightly in irritation. Loki watched fascinated as she went from annoyed to thoughtful. The mortal shifted her emotions quickly, it was dizzying sometimes.

She cocked her head to the side, smiling as she looked him up and down.

"Would you like to go with me? I mean, don't you want to get out for awhile? Surely you are getting at least a bit bored." Darcy waved her hand around the room, mostly at Jane and Thor. Loki knew then that whatever she might have said, the trip out was just as much to escape the monotony of the lab as it was to pick up supplies.

"I agree, there is little here that catches my attention, mostly with you leaving. Actually this place reminds me a bit too much of my cell on Asgard." The place was made only slightly better by the presence of Darcy. Something that bothered Loki, he just simply put it down to finding her reactions to his obvious flirting, amusing.

"Thank you, I do think I would enjoy joining you." He really didn't believe that leaving the lab would cure him of his boredom, but it would probably save the computer from being smashed to pieces.

Darcy smiled while she watched Loki throw on a light jacket. She was surprised he had agreed. Her asking had been unplanned, but seeing him struggling to use the computer for the past hour had gotten to her.

She couldn't help raking her eyes up and down Loki's body. The alien god had taken to wearing a pair of black jeans with a simple long sleeved black t-shirt, and of course black leather boots. It was a bit more dangerous than Thor's lumberjack look, but that was why she figured it suited him so. She wanted so very much to buy a tube of gel and slick his hair back, well after cutting it. She knew Loki could so easily rock the greaser look.

Dangerous look aside, she was glad that Thor and Loki had taken to Earth clothing. She really didn't feel like having to explain them to the others in town. A few months prior, a couple of her high school friends had come to visit, and they were big cosplayers. They had brought several of their costumes, wanting to take advantage of being in the desert, and they had all gone out for a photo shoot. The town had about come unglued, it was kind of funny actually. On the day that they left, they all dressed up and raided the stores and diner. There was a freaking cool set of posts on her Tumblr from that day.

Neither spoke as they left the lab, their minds too occupied for shallow prattle. In the end though, it was Loki that broke the silence.

"Is there not some sort of library in this realm in which I could visit?" Loki knew that technology had grown on Midgard, but surely they had yet to fully dispose of books. He couldn't imagine a world without books. There was something about the feel of the leather binding and the scent of the paper, like aged spice.

"Yeah there is, it's pretty small though. I doubt it could rival the libraries on Asgard. Did you want to go?" Darcy had stopped, turning to watch the thoughtful expression on Loki's face.

"I would be most appreciative, thank you, Darcy Lewis. I have been unable to find what I have be looking for online, and had thought the information might predate such technology." Loki gave a small smile, nodding his head slightly in thanks.

Darcy wanted to roll her eyes, she knew he was lying. Well, mostly lying, as she was sure the information did predate any form of technology. Still, she had secretly watched him as he tried to use the computer. She knew it was evil of her not to help him, but he could be a bit of a pain and she decided that was her way of getting back at him, petty as it was. Though it had stopped being funny when she realized that Thor had learned how to work the contraption, admittedly though he had only figured out how to find porn on the thing, still the thought that Thor had figured it out when Loki still struggled bothered her somehow.

Darcy directed him towards the library, and just as she had predicted, the place paled in comparison to the royal library of Asgard. Or at least that was what Loki had told her upon entering the small building that housed the few hundred books available. She couldn't help but dream about the Asgardian library, she figured it would be a place she could loose herself for weeks in, if not months.

"Ok, I'm not sure how they do it on Asgard, but here on Earth you have to have a card before you can borrow anything." Though the idea of introducing Earth things to both Loki and Thor was always a fun one, Darcy had been worrying about this one small thing. Loki was a prince, not used to conforming to the masses.

"A card? What possible advantage is there to me having a card?" His eyes glanced over the selection of books, already he could feel his hope dwindle. It was doubtful that any useful information would be found in such a dismal place.

"Well, I mean you have to make an account. You give them your name, address and so on and so forth, and they give you a card with your name on it. When you borrow books you present the card so they can keep record of what you have taken." Darcy plastered a wide smile on her face. She felt like she was explaining something to a child and not an alien god that was older than most buildings on the planet.

"Aw, yes, we have no need for such things on Asgard. The Record Keepers know all when it comes to their domain." Loki cringed when he remembered a particular prank he had pulled as a child. Thor had dared him to sneak, well steal, a tome from the Great Library. They had been so very young then, before they had ever gone off to war, and Thor had seen the tome hidden away in the furthest corner of the library. It had been a form of love manual, and as curious, young boys it had been very tempting.

Loki had been even more arrogant back then, believing that he could fool even Odin before his very eyes. He had waited until darkness had fallen over Asgard, sending a double to bed in his place. He had crept along the shelves, slipping the book from its corner and wrapping it in one of his cloaks.

He had thought he had succeed when he had been able to return to his and Thor's room with the tome, and in celebration the two of them spent the night reading through the manual instead of sleeping.

It had been the next morning when he realized that he had been caught. Thor and himself had been seated at the table with Odin and their mother when the eldest of the Record Keepers came rushing into the dining hall, slapping the manual down on the table between him and his mother. Loki could not remember a more mortifying time in his life.

"Midgard to Loki, you in there Buddy?" Darcy gasped as Loki grabbed her wrist just as she was about to knock her knuckles against his head. He looked down at her, raising a single brow.

"No need to snap my arm, I was just playing, jeeze. You kind of blanked out there for a moment. I bet you didn't even hear a word I had just said." The blank look on his face confirmed her words, and she couldn't help but sigh.

"Come on, we need to get you that card. You can also let go of my wrist now." She rubbed at her wrist once he let go, though it actually didn't hurt. He had grasped a hold of her firmly, yet gently. It was a strange thing for Darcy to think of gentleness and Loki going together. It was like putting marshmallow fluff and fish paste together, it made one shake in fear.

* * *

It had taken them awhile, but eventually they had found every book in the library that had even the slightest bit of reference to the Weavers. Not that it was much really, just ten books, most of them children's fairy stories. Still, they had checked them out and headed for the store.

Darcy was still giggling while they shopped, unable to help herself. She knew Loki was still annoyed at her, coming up with the name Luke Frost for his library card. He had glared at her, looking as though he planned to kill her in her sleep, but she couldn't help it. After having a conversation with Thor about why Loki kept getting mad when he called him brother, Darcy had made as many frost and ice jokes as she could. She knew she should actually be thankful she wasn't dead. Though she wasn't going to count on anything until he regained his powers. It could be that he was just waiting until he could turn her into a toad or something.

Thor and Jane were waiting for them with crossed arms when they returned to the lab, both looking disconcertingly like angry parents. For just a moment she felt like she was sixteen again, being caught out in the garage with her boyfriend's tongue down her throat and her hand down his jeans. Thankfully that moment didn't last long when she realized that not only was she a grown adult, but that the two disapproving faces in front of her were not the ones of her parents.

Loki rolled his eyes at the two, wanting nothing more than to snap at them as Thor let out a relieved sigh. He really wanted to know when Thor thought he could consider himself the responsible one.

"You are a fool, Thor. I'm back, it is quite obvious that I haven't run off, so you can relax." Loki didn't spare another thought to any of the rest of them, just took his books and went off to his cot to read.

"It wouldn't hurt either of you to have a little more faith in Loki, would it?" Darcy shook her head at Jane and sent a look towards Thor, annoyed with them more because she had actually been having a good time with the god of mischief, and now he would spend the rest of the day sulking.

"We didn't know where either of you were, what were we suppose to think?" Jane continued to stare down at Darcy, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Though Thor looked like he was beginning to calm down.

"If you had been listening, as you hadn't been but five feet away from us, you would have heard that we were going to the store." Darcy crossed her own arms over her chest and just glared at Jane, daring her to say something stupid.

"You were gone a long time for just going to the store." Jane wasn't normally so nosey or strict with Darcy, but they were talking about Loki.

"I took Loki to the library, it took us a while there." Darcy felt like pinching the bridge of her nose. She hoped like hell that she wasn't going to get the third degree whenever she hung out with Loki, because with the way that Jane and Thor paired up it looked like she would be spending an awful lot of time with him.

"Why in the world did he want to go there for?" Jane didn't like the idea of Loki manipulating her young friend, and she had no doubt in her mind that was just what was happening.

"He wanted to see if he could find anything on the Weavers. You know, any old legends or stories that might have been passed down from before they had been banished from Earth." Tired of dealing with overprotective Jane, Darcy flung her hands up in the air with a growl when Jane gave her The Look. It was the look that parents gave you when they believe you should have caught up on something. Only this time it was Jane that was missing the point.

"Why?" And that just proved it.

"I don't know, maybe he wants to know more about the thing that's after him than what he's been told? I mean, all he knows is that Liadain is dangerous and he should stay away. If I was the one having my dreams invaded by a super evil bitch that wanted to use me, I would want to know all I could about her." Shaking her head she marched towards the kitchen to put away the food. If she stomped her feet a little harder than necessary, well who could really blame her?

Sadly, Jane followed her, apparently not done with her scolding.

"Darcy, this is Loki we are talking about…." Jane sighed when she realized that Darcy was ignoring her. Not allowing the younger woman to shut her out, Jane stepped up beside her and helped her put away the shopping.

"Look, Darc, I'm sorry for getting annoyed, but I was worried. Thor and I turn around and both of you were gone, what were we suppose to think? Remember we are talking about Loki here, Loki who attacked New York. For goodness sakes Darc, he almost killed you when he sent the Destroyer!" Ok, so Darcy hadn't actually had a close call that day, but Jane would use whatever she could to get the fact that Loki was dangerous in her friend's head.

"Ok, yeah that was bad, and I haven't forgiven him for the metal man, but there is not much he can do right now. His powers are gone, remember?" Darcy grabbed the jar of Biscoff spread from Jane, opened it and stuck her finger straight into it. She whined when Jane ripped it out her hands and set it down on the counter.

"A man does not need super powers to kill a person. That is not the point though, Darc, what is to say that he won't use the information he finds in order to betray everyone again?" Jane knew that Thor wouldn't be able to take another betrayal from his brother. The last two had already broken his heart, she feared what a third would do.

"But what if he doesn't? Jane, I'm not saying that he has all of a sudden become good, because believe me I seriously doubt that happening. What I am saying is that Loki has the right to know about what is coming after him, and we will just have to take the chance that he actually listens and stays away from her. Because he will always do what he wants to do, and nothing anyone does is going to change that." Deciding that she had enough for one day, Darcy grabbed back her jar of spread and made her way up to the roof for a little quiet time.

* * *

Loki huffed, throwing the last book to the bottom of his cot. He leaned back, running a hand through his hair. All he wanted was information on Liadain and the Weavers, even the smallest fragment would be fine if it was something he hadn't known yet.

"That one rubbish as well, huh?" Darcy looked up from her laptop, sending a pitying look Loki's way. He had been at it since they returned from the store, never once stopping to even eat. One by one the books ended up thrown across the room, Darcy had to keep dodging them until she threatened him with castration if he didn't stop it.

"I'm sure they hold a bit of truth in them, but they are mostly children's stories. There is nothing in them at all about Liadain or the power to control dreams. Just silly tales about women that controlled the lives of mortals through tapestry weaving." Loki gave his hair one last run through, before setting his gaze on Darcy. There was something about her that was somewhat alluring. She wasn't at all like Thor's Jane, she actually reminded him a lot of Sif. Well the Sif of his childhood, before everything went sour between them.

Darcy set her laptop down and went to sit at the bottom of Loki's bed, even though he gave her a strange look. She picked up a book and looked at Loki and his almost smiling expression.

"What?" He laughed a bit, resting back against the wall.

"When I thought about the first time I would have you in my bed, I hadn't been thinking about reading books." Darcy blushed, Loki really loved to flirt with her. Not that she didn't like it, she kind of did. She liked the attention, still it was a little scary. He was a murdering evil alien for goodness sake.

She shook her head and skimmed through the book, stopping to read a story about halfway through about a man getting caught in a bramble patch, getting captured by the Fairy Queen and in the end rescued by a beautiful maiden. She smiled at that, she actually remembered that story from her childhood.

She looked up at Loki once she finished reading, setting the book down when she realized he had been watching her with a strange expression on his face. It wasn't harsh or evil, it was almost soft and thoughtful, and it made Darcy uncomfortable. She cleared her throat and stood up.

"Um, it's getting late and we should probably get to sleep. So, um, goodnight." With that she went back to her cot and got in, turning her back to Loki and tried to will herself to sleep. It wasn't fair that the bad guy was always the one that looked so hot.

Loki just sat there and watched her for awhile, before shaking his head and gathering his books to set on the table by his bed. He laid down and thought about the woman across from him. She really was a strange mortal, but what was even worse was the fact that she had caught his attention.


	5. Living Phantoms

Another week passed before things finally changed. During that time Loki had finally begun to accept the fact that he was being pursued by a powerful being, and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it. No way that he could take control of the situation.

Loki ground his teeth together as he looked out over the town from his perch on the roof. Whenever he was left to his thoughts, such as he currently was, he began to wonder what really would happen if he gave in to Liadain. What could possibly be so horrible about her that his mother actually shook in fear at her name?

So lost in his thoughts, Loki didn't notice that he wasn't alone until a small brown package was thrust under his nose. Unclenching his jaws, Loki turned to find Darcy sitting beside him, her legs kicking back and forth over the edge of the building.

"And what, may I ask, is this?" Loki's eyes bounced back and forth between the package and the woman beside him. He couldn't remember the last time he was given a gift, not one that didn't come attached with favors. He was sure his mother had been the last one to gift him, but it had been so long ago now he couldn't even recall what it had been.

"You'll have to open it to find out. Go on, it's not going to blow up or anything." Darcy smiled brightly at him, though something inside ached. What had happened in his past that made him weary of gifts?

She watched as he carefully opened the small box, his long fingers slipping inside to pull out an old and tattered book.

 _"The Mind and the Thread?"_  Loki flipped the small book over in his hands. It was obviously old, most likely a hundred or so years, bound in aged black leather with faded gold writing. The moment that he had opened the package he had been able to smell the faint scent of old parchment, a mixture of mildew and spice. It was a smell that brought back memories of his days spent in the Great Library as a child.

"After our failed trip to the library last week I thought I would have a go online. I spent all night looking up any keywords I thought would help. Eventually I came across the site for this old secondhand book shop I used to go to whenever I was in Boston." Darcy reached across her lap to flip the cover of the book open.

"It's a quant shop, I guess that is what you'd call it. It always reminded me of something that belonged in Harry Potter. Anyway, it's run by this sweet, but quirky old Irish woman, Mary. I wouldn't have thought of the store, but Mary always loved to spin wild tales whenever I visited. So I e-mailed her, just to see if by chance she had any books about the Weavers.

"She e-mailed me back within hours, telling me about that book. She was reluctant about selling it to me, but in the end I was able to get her to rush it for me." Darcy closed the cover of the book and looked up at Loki then, her face the most serious he had ever seen. It was an expression that didn't seem to suit the normally happy woman.

"What is wrong, Darcy? If the price of the item bothers you, I am sure that Odin will compensate you for it." Loki had to bite his tongue in order not to snap at the mortal woman. She didn't need to feel obligated to help him.

"I don't care about the price, not that it was very much anyway. No, Loki, she told me to be careful. Not like she normally did, about how to treat old books. She said the Weavers are not beings to be getting caught up in. Like she knew that the information in that book was real and not just fairy stories." She gave him another smile; it was small and really didn't reach her eyes, though neither said anything about it. Without actually thinking it through, she reached over and patted his arm lightly. An action that surprised both of them.

"Loki, please be careful, huh? Before you say anything, I know you don't plan on listening to a stupid mortal, but hear me out. I think you should listen to your mother, because it looks like she just might be right." With that, Darcy stood up and left back down inside the lab, leaving Loki not knowing what to make of the mortal woman's kindness to him.

* * *

 

Hours later Loki still remained on the roof, only this time he was not looking at the town, but had his head resting in his hands. Everything that he had just read going round and round in his head. For the first time he understood what his mother had been talking about, he wasn't sure about to do.

Unlike before, Loki heard Darcy before she sat down beside him, her footsteps loud as they kicked up the gravel that covered the roof.

"Have you read the book yet?" Without any care, Darcy flopped herself down beside the alien god, wincing as her tailbone hit the cement ledge.

"Yes." He didn't look at her at first, his mind still on the information in the book. He didn't flinch as she set a hand on his shoulder, her fingers curling around to rest lightly against his collarbone. This in itself was surprising, but what was even more was that at that moment he welcomed the calming touch.

"Ok, well….is everything alright?" Darcy's brow furrowed, she had never seen him so morose. Not that she had known him all that long, for as much as she knew this could be his normal behavior. Maybe he normally had periods of moroseness; maybe he would be evil one minute and the next go and have himself a good sulk. It was an image that almost made Darcy laugh, though the sound caught in her throat when Loki turned to look at her, his face drawn in what looked like pain.

"No, I do not believe that anything is alright." Loki felt helpless at that moment, and for the first time in years he actually felt the urge to tell the full truth. It was a feeling he did not welcome.

"What is wrong? Was the book another dead end?" Darcy had feared that it was, even with Mary's reaction. What were the chances that they would actually find useful information about the Weavers on Earth?

"It is anything but. The book you have found seems to be genuine." Loki paused, turning the book over and over in his hands.

"It speaks of Asgard as a realm, mentions Odin and the Aesir as real beings, not myth. I would not be surprised to find that the author was at least half Asgardian." Settling the book correctly in his lap, he turned to a page and looked to Darcy.

"It speaks of the Weavers, a race of elf like creatures that once dwelled on Midgard. They had been peaceful once, wanting nothing more than to live their lives separate from the mortals they shared the planet with.

"They were said to hold a myriad of gifts, one such power being the ability to see the future paths of others, as well as the power to control both dreams and nightmares. Most of the Weavers held only one of those gifts, though there were those who had the ability to use them all." Loki traced the words on the page with a single finger, his eyes traveling back to the book.

"I thought your mother said they were dangerous?" There was something, Darcy thought, bothersome about watching Loki while he was in thought. His eyes seemed to travel far away, far beyond Earth to realms she could only imagine. It made Darcy feel very small.

"On a whole they are not. They had hidden themselves away from your kind, content to live apart from the growing mortal world. At least they were until one Weaver, Liadain, grew tired of hiding.

"It tells about how she longed for power, and used her talents to try and manipulate her way to ruling Earth. The others feared what would happen if she gained control and contacted Odin, who in his wisdom banished the entirety of the Weavers from the planet.

"Nothing more was heard from them at that point, their legacy on Midgard being the legends left behind." He handed Darcy the book then, opened to the page he had been staring at.

Quietly Darcy whispered the words printed there as Loki recited them.

"Though banished from the mortal realm, Liadain, the Gray Child of Midgard, had promised her return. The very moment before Odin's power cast her out, she proclaimed that a day would come when she would claim her right as Queen. She promised to Odin himself, that he would never have the power to take away what was rightfully hers." Loki reached over, closing the book still in Darcy's hands.

"Liadain is keeping her promise, and she is planning on using me to do it." He didn't tell her that it angered him, not because someone would try to take over the planet, but that Liadain thought she had a right to it. Midgard was his, and he would be damned if he allowed another to take it.

Loki was brought out of his darker thoughts as Darcy bumped his shoulder with hers, before setting the book back in his lap.

"Don't worry, we'll figure something out." Darcy smiled, not really sure what she said was true. Two aliens and two mortals really didn't figure up to much, mostly against someone like Liadain. Still, Darcy wasn't the doom and gloom sort of person.

"Liadain still has yet to find you, right?" Darcy bumped her shoulder into his once more, this time leaning against him instead of pulling away.

"My nights remain dreamless, so for as much as I know, I remain hidden to her. Though I doubt it will be for long." It was strange for Loki, being hunted in such a manner. Thor and the Avengers had hunted him, but it never felt like this. Like he was nothing more than an animal being tracked. He wondered how long before he found himself in the predator's jaws?

"Hey, don't stress too much on it right now. Thor told me that your parents are looking into a way to stop Liadain. I mean, your father has to figure something out, right?" Darcy flinched and pulled back a little when Loki growled. Actually growled like a freaking animal.

"Odin is not my father!" How many times did he have to explain that?

Darcy huffed, rolled her eyes and smacked his arm…hard.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, stop being a baby! Family isn't about blood; it's about love and bonds. I know you have some issues, I get that, but I think it is high time you start acting like the adult you are and stop trying to kill people. I, for one, am tired of it all; I had enough drama in high school." She stood up, ignoring the glower Loki was sending her, and headed for the door that led back inside.

"Oh, and you better get inside if you want anything for dinner. We're going out to eat tonight, so you best get ready unless you want to eat pop tarts for dinner." Not looking back to see if Loki was still trying to kill her with his eyes, she opened the door and started her way down the stairs.

Loki watched her walk away, his hand coming up to rub along where she had hit him. Her actions should have angered him more than they actually had. He didn't know what to make of it when he realized he was more amused than anything.

* * *

 

The great chamber was silent as Odin and his wife awaited the arrival of the two Weavers, Rhonwen and Bronwen. Both were second level Weavers, as well as two of the originals that had opposed Liadain.

The sisters arrived side by side. Their features much the same, except for the fact that Rhonwen's hair appeared the color of blood, where Bronwen's glowed like the sun. Their steps were silent, making them seem more like apparitions to anyone watching. Odin held back the shiver of revulsion at the very sight of them. The Weavers had always unnerved him; they were no more than the living embodiment of nightmares in his opinion.

"Odin of Asgard." The sisters stopped at the end of the dais, bowed and spoke simultaneously. As though they were one person, they stood straight and turned to Frigga, their smiles bright.

"And Frigga, to what do we owe this pleasure after so many years of silence?" Just as their appearance brought to mind living phantoms, so too did their voices.

"Are you not aware of your cousin's actions?" Odin spoke quietly, but there was no mistaking the accusation in his words.

The twins cocked their heads, blinking as they looked between the two Aesir. Odin had always held them in suspicion, for as long as they had known him, Odin had condemned the masses because of the few. Because of this he trusted them as much as he did Liadain. Turning away from the angry glare of Odin, Rhonwen looked to Frigga, the one Aesir they called friend.

"After the banishment, Liadain was sent away. She was condemned by our people as much as yours. We have had no contact, nor have we heard anything concerning her. It is possible that others have, our race has been scattered across the realms, we are rarely in contact with others." It had been over a hundred years since the twins had spoken to another Weaver. Their once great race were now reduced to hiding among the stars, hoping that the day would come when one of their numbers found a suitable planet for them all to settle.

"What news have you of our kin?" Bronwen stepped away from her sister, towards Odin.

"She seeks to fulfill her promise to return to Midgard." Odin ground his teeth; it pained him greatly to ask for help from the twins.

Frigga held back a sigh at her husband's behavior. Odin was a great man, a great king, but at times she wondered if she hadn't married an overgrown child.

"Liadain has found a way to gain power enough to fulfill her promise, by enlisting the help of our son, Loki. She has come to him in his dreams, plying him with promises of power, of a throne and a kingdom.

"Loki has lost his way, and I fear that because of this he will join with your cousin without knowing the truth of his actions. Loki is very powerful, made Aesir by Odin, but Frost Giant by birth. Should Liadain gain control of his power, I fear there would be nothing anyone in the nine realms could do to stop her." Frigga's voice wavered slightly, no matter what Loki had done or would do in the future; he was and always would be her son.

"Where is your son now? If Liadain has set her sights on him, she will stop at nothing to have him." Rhonwen knew her cousin just as well as she knew her sister. No one refused Liadain, those that even tried ended up dead.

"He has been sent to Midgard with his brother, their powers bound in order to mask their presence. We know that it is only a temporary solution, but we needed to buy time." Frigga glanced over towards her husband, annoyed at his silence.

"A wise choice, though as you said, it is only a temporary solution. Liadain will, in time, discover Loki's location. The banishment will hinder her for only so long, before she finds a way to him, or to bring him to her." Ignoring Odin's discomfort, Rhonwen took the few steps to her sister, placing her right before him.

"As she is our cousin we shall do everything in our power to stop her." Almost imperceptibly, Rhonwen turned her head slightly towards her sister. For only a heartbeat they were silent before Rhonwen once again spoke.

"Bronwen shall contact the others, gathering information and allies. I, on the other hand, wish to return to Midgard." As she expected, Odin finally reacted. His hands balled into fists, Odin stood from his throne, towering over them.

"Why would I allow such a thing?" Odin's voice had finally risen, echoing throughout the great chamber.

"Because you need us, or we would not be here. Because for all your power, you are helpless to protect your own son from one of our kind. Because you know as well as us, that I am the only one capable of protecting Loki. So I would suggest that you lift the banishment for me, and allow me to keep watch over your children.

"Believe me, Liadain is very cunning and powerful, and though your sons have surely dealt with much, they have never met someone of our cousin's ilk." Rhonwen practically radiated energy as she stood before Odin. For the first time since the twins had entered the great chamber, she demonstrated just how powerful she really was.

"The banishment shall be lifted for the two of you only. But know this, if I had my way I would see your entire race reduced to ashes." Odin seethed, his body all but shaking in anger.

"And here lies the difference between us. You wish us dead though you have not the power, we hold such ability, but would show mercy.

"Lift the banishment and we shall help, but after this we are even and ask that you never contact us again." Without another word the twins turned and left, their footsteps making as little noise leaving as they had when entering.

"Well done, Husband. With your prejudice you have just alienated the one race that could have become our greatest ally. Be thankful that the Weavers are as honorable as they are, because had they not been we would lose our son." Frigga felt the heat of tears build behind her eyes, but refused to allow them to fall.

"We might still. The sisters may not be enough to save Loki, or the nine realms." Odin watched as his wife slipped away from him, her dress fluttering like wings. He knew she was right, but in the end he also knew that it may not matter. For no matter what they did, there was a very great chance that Loki would join Liadain, and the whole of the nine realms would be painted with blood.


	6. Tight Pants Man

Darcy knew it was inevitable that SHIELD would find out about Loki and Thor, and that they would send someone, if not the entirety of the Avengers after them. Thor might have been a friend, but Loki was sort of public enemy number one.

The day started like any other, so of course Darcy had never suspected a thing, though she really should have. She had made coffee and pop tarts while Jane tried to work. Not that she had gotten much done so far, not with Thor continuously kissing or pinching her, or doing something Darcy really didn't want to know about. Loki had been brooding somewhere around the lab, coming out every now and then to talk to her.

It was something that Darcy found strange, Loki actually seeking out her company. She had never thought anything exciting would happen to her, but there she was becoming friends with Loki. It was surreal really. Darcy Lewis was friends with Loki, the Asgardian god of mischief.

At the moment she had stuffed a poptart in her mouth, the door to the lab opened. She turned expecting to find Loki, book in hand, heading straight for her. Instead she laid eyes on what had to be one of the hottest men in existence.

He was shorter than both the Asgardian brothers, with a head full of blond hair and was dressed in the tightest pair of pants she had ever seen. Really, nothing left to the imagination. Damn.

She bit down on the poptart, setting the rest of it on her plate, before dusting the crumbs from her face. She swallowed down her bite and sent him a bright smile. One that he didn't return, he just looked at her and then around the room.

"Where is Dr. Foster?"

Darcy rolled her eyes, yeah all the hot guys only seemed to want Jane, how fair was that?

"Oh, hello to you too. It is very nice to meet you, lovely weather we are having. Oh, I'm fine, thank you for asking, why don't you sit down for a cup of coffee." Darcy waved her hand at the table, her face still in a blinding smile.

"Excuse me?" The man lifted a brow, looking at Darcy as though he expected men in white coats to come running after her.

"Oh, you know, just being polite. It is not like you just came in here and demanded to see my boss without even a how-do-you-do, now is it?" If there was one thing that Darcy was good at, it was being a major pain in the ass. She actually prided herself on it, if there were awards for pain in asses, she would have won hands down every year since she was five.

The man glared at her, and she was sure he was calling her a bitch in his head. Maybe even plotting ways to kill her.

"I'm Agent Barton, and I need to talk to Foster, now." Barton remained where he was, back stiff as he looked over the young woman before him. He remembered seeing her the last time he was in New Mexico, she had been as much of an annoyance then as she was now.

"Damn it, SHIELD? You're fucking SHIELD?" Darcy groaned, she really should have seen it coming, seriously.

"Friend Barton!" Thor shouted from across the room, his voice booming over every other noise in the lab.

Darcy looked from Barton to Thor and watched, surprised, as Thor marched across the room and picked up Barton in his arms in a huge hug. Barton laughed; the first emotion Darcy had seen on his face, and patted Thor's arms.

"Whoa, put me down! I'm not a fucking rag doll, ya know!" Barton was still laughing as Thor set him back on the floor.

"What brings you here? Do the Avengers have need of me?" Thor looked pained as he asked, knowing that without his powers he could be of little help.

"No, everything is quiet right now, much to Tony's annoyance. No, Fury got word that two men with the descriptions of you and Loki had been spotted here. I've been sent to investigate." Barton rolled his eyes; Fury was probably the biggest control freak that he had ever seen. The man was good at what he did, but sometimes he agreed with Tony, that to Fury they were nothing more than his little toys. A set of tin soldiers all ready for him to line up how he pleased.

Thor opened his mouth, but before he could speak Loki entered the room causing Barton to go rigid.

"Hello again, minion." Loki practically beamed at Barton, and quicker than Darcy had ever seen the agent turned around, a knife appearing in his hand and pointed directly at the Asgardian.

Though stunned, Darcy moved to stand in front of Loki. She could feel him at her back, standing closer than she had thought. His breath tickled her neck, and Darcy had to hold in the shiver that it caused.

"Move, kid! Don't you know who that is?" Barton looked at her strange, truly convinced that she was out of her mind.

"Duh, I'm not stupid, but it's not like he can do anything to you, seeing as he has no power." Darcy narrowed her eyes as Barton laughed at her.

"Is that what he told you? You're a fool if you believe him, hello, god of lies!" Barton continued to laugh until he realized everyone was looking at him funny.

"It is true, both Loki and myself have had our powers bound. Loki is of no more danger to you than any mortal man."

"What, why? Why the fuck are you guys even here?" Barton winced as Thor set a hand down on his shoulder just a little too hard. Though he had no powers, Thor remained stronger than a mortal man.

"Why don't you have a seat and that coffee I offered, it is a bit of a long story." Darcy stepped away from Loki, though not before she felt the tickle of his breath on her neck as he let out a harsh huff.

* * *

 

Barton blinked a couple of times after Thor finished talking, trying to understand what he had been told. Jane had joined them at one point, sitting down on Thor's lap while Darcy remained seated with Loki standing behind her. She almost expected him to place his hands on her shoulders, and was a bit surprised when he only placed them on the back of her chair. Still, she leaned back until she felt his long fingers digging into her spine.

"Why is it so important to keep Loki safe? The guy is a war criminal for fuck's sake!" As far as Barton was concerned, Liadain could kill Loki.

"Are you kidding me?! Besides the fact that Loki is Thor's brother…shut up Loki….the fact is Liadain is one powerful evil bitch, and it would mean the end of everything if she gets her hands on Loki and controls his power. So in order to save our world, and every other world, we must keep Loki safe. Get it…Got it…Good." Darcy crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the way Loki's fingers dug just a little harder into her back, moving slightly up and down.

Barton looked from Darcy to Loki and lifted a brow when he turned back to Thor. Thor just gave a bit of a smile and shrug of the shoulder; he wasn't sure himself what was going on between the two. They seemed to be friends, but sometimes it seemed like there might have been something more.

"OOOOOkayyyy. Well then, I'm going to have to contact Fury, but I can pretty much bet you that I'll be staying."

* * *

 

Of course Barton had been right. After being told the whole sordid tale, Fury had ordered Barton to remain with them for as long as Thor and Loki were on Earth. Darcy thought it was a bit much considering that they had no powers, but whatever.

Barton was currently outside the lab, standing around looking like an idiot in his tights. Because of this Darcy decided to bug him, she figured she might as well, she knew at some point she would annoy Loki once too often and he would take a butter knife after her or something.

She stood beside him quietly for a while, just rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. Eventually he looked down at her with a lifted brow, but continued to say nothing.

"Soooo, you know Thor then?" Darcy clicked her tongue after she spoke. She looked at the man beside her as he laughed. It was a nice laugh, though quiet, almost contained like he was used to controlling such actions.

"Yes, I know Thor. I fought alongside him in New York." Barton stopped laughing when he noticed the look on the girl's face. She was blinking up at him with a strange expression.

"You're an Avenger then?" Darcy blinked a couple of more times. She probably should have recognized him, but while she had watched the coverage of the battle she had been a little more preoccupied with the freaky aliens trying to take over her planet.

"Um yes, I'm Hawkeye." Since New York everyone knew who he was, he had yet to meet anyone that didn't recognize him. Well, until now.

"Oh, cool." Darcy just nodded her head.

"Is that it? Oh, cool?" He turned to his side, looking down on the strange girl. She hadn't sounded very impressed at all, it kind of annoyed him, actually.

"What, what was I supposed to do? Jump up and down with a giggle and anime jump so my boobs would bounce hard enough to fall out of my top, and thank you or something for allowing me to meet you?" Darcy raised a brow, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. If he thought she was going to be one of his Avenger groupies, he had another thing coming.

"Well, yeah, actually. That is the normal reaction I get. Though the whole boobs falling out is normally reserved for Tony." He shrugged his shoulders with a laugh. Though in truth he was picturing Darcy's little scenario, not that he would ever tell anyone. Besides the fact that he had heard about the girl tazering Thor, he had a feeling he would end up dealing with both the god of thunder as well as Loki. As strange as that thought was.

"Sorry, Dude, I'm not really impressed. I'm friends with two freaking Norse Gods. Tight Pants Man is little more than a side note in my life's story." Darcy flicked a hand out as if to say whatever, and leaned back fully against the wall.

Barton blinked, he wasn't sure if he should laugh or not. Though he was grateful that Tony hadn't been there to hear Darcy's nickname for him, he feared what the man would do with it.

"So, you got a name besides Barton or Hawkeye, or do you got like a Madonna thing going?"

"It's Clint, Clint Barton." Barton looked down as Darcy held out her hand.

"Well, Clint, I'm Darcy Lewis, it is nice to meet you." Darcy smiled as Clint took her hand in a shake.

"It is nice to meet you too."

* * *

 

Loki ground his teeth as he looked down from the roof on Darcy and Barton. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like the way they were laughing together.

Loki pulled back, sitting himself down on a chair with the book that Darcy had bought him. Even with what he had learned, he found he was a bit tempted to call out to Liadain. He knew he could turn things around on the woman, use her in order to get what he wanted. He was good at that sort of deception. Make her think she was the one in charge when he was the one controlling her. He could use her power to gain a throne, and then destroy her.

Darcy's laugh below made him put the book down. He could still hear the worry in her voice when she had told him to be careful. It was strange, to have someone like her care for him. Very strange.


	7. Rhonwen

Darcy never realized just how much could change in just two weeks, how easy it could be to form routines and habits. It was so easy, to the point of being scary actually. In the two weeks since Clint's arrival, Darcy had found herself settling into a routine revolved around her friendship with both him and Loki.

She had found, to her surprise, that she enjoyed Clint's company. He was funny, crazy, and just plain fun to be around. He was quick witted, always ready to hand out some snarky remark that made her giggle. When he was not making an annoyance of himself in the lab, he was teaching Darcy how to shoot an arrow, or giving her basic combat training.

Of course things were not all sunshine and rainbows. Loki and Clint didn't along for obvious reasons, which made it hard on Darcy as she was friends with both of them. Ok, well she was friends with Clint and knew she was seriously crushing hard core on Loki; she wanted to kick herself in the ass for that one. What kind of idiot crushes on the god of mischief? Really?!

Darcy ran a hand over her face, trying to dislodge the thought of Loki as more than a friend from her brain. She had hoped that the tedious punching of computer keys she was doing for Jane would have been enough to distract her, instead it gave her ample time to dream up scenario after scenario involving her, Loki, and the lack of clothing. It was becoming rather annoying, and she fervently wished for something to distract her.

Said distraction came about not a few minutes later in the form of a loud commotion out by the front of the building. She sighed and stood, practically running for the door in order to make sure that Loki and Clint were not trying to kill each other….again. Sadly something that happened almost on a daily basis.

She had been expecting another standoff, Clint crouched and ready to pounce with a knife in his hand and Loki standing arrogantly by, goading the other man with insults. What she found instead just made her head hurt. Really, could her life get any weirder?

Darcy blinked as she looked past the three men poised for battle, and to the strange woman before them. It was obvious that she was anything but human. Oh, she was humanoid, two arms, two legs, and a single head with the normal number of eyes, nose and mouth. But she was otherworldly, with her unnaturally white skin and green eyes that seemed to glow. It didn't help that the woman had pointed ears, like fucking Lord of the Rings elves pointed ears. Or that she had markings covering her entire face.

At first Darcy had believed them to be some sort of makeup, but the closer she looked she realized they were natural, like the spots on a wild cat. Dark green lines ran down the sides of her nose, up and through her eyebrows, which curled up giving her an almost owlish appearance. Darcy envied the natural sheen of her skin, it was something she had only ever been able to achieve with shimmer powder.

She stood with authority, looking over the three men in front of her, her eyes soon settling on Thor.

"I am Rhonwen of Briarwood…" Before Rhonwen could say another word, Loki grabbed a hold of her arm and swung her around until he had her pinned against the building wall. Darcy watched nervously, waiting for all hell to break loose, but Rhonwen remained calm. She simply looked to Loki, her eyes staring unblinkingly into his.

"I have been sent by Odin and Frigga to protect you from my cousin, Liadain." Not once did Rhonwen's voice waver, something that Darcy knew hers would be if she had been in the woman's position.

"A Weaver? Why would you wish to help us?" Loki spit out his words as though they burned his tongue, and pressed his arm just a little bit tighter against the woman's neck.

"Not all Weavers are like Liadain, we are a peaceful race mostly. My cousin plans on using you to rule Midgard, this is something that my people can not allow." Rhonwen remained passive, never once moving to defend herself. She knew that it could have been a deception; still Darcy stepped forward to put a hand on Loki's arm, lowering it from the Weaver's neck.

"It's alright, Loki. Come on, let's get inside and talk." They might have been a ways from the town itself, but not so far away that people couldn't see. It would be best to take any kind of altercation inside and away from prying eyes.

"You trust too easily, Darcy. What if she is lying, what if it was a trick? We know too little of the Weavers, she could be sent by Liadain as another lure." Though he allowed Darcy to lower his arm, he kept his sights on Rhonwen. He wasn't used to second guessing things around him, of being the one worrying about another's loyalty.

"You still retain your powers over lies, so think Loki, does it sound like she was lying to you?" Darcy let out a sigh when Loki shook his head and stepped away. She knew he was still weary, the fact was she was herself, but at the moment Rhonwen was the only other lead besides the book they had.

"Thank you." Rhonwen nodded her head towards Darcy, though she continued to look into Loki's eyes.

"Ah, yeah, you're welcome. Um, why don't you come inside and you can fill us in on what your evil cousin is up to, yeah?" Darcy didn't wait for an answer, just turned on the spot and headed back inside the lab where she quickly filled up cups of coffee and glasses of water. By the time she was done everyone was seated at the kitchen table. Well as much as they could be. She handed the glasses out, and not finding an empty chair, seated herself on the floor between Loki and Clint.

"What information can you give us regarding your cousin?" Clint leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on Rhonwen. He had seen some strange things in his time with SHIELD, but not once had he thought he would be confronted with an elf.

Besides the face markings, Rhonwen was the picture of what he imagined elves would look like. She wasn't tall by any means, possibly a few inches shorter than him, and curved, not stick thin. She looked regal in her floor length green dress; it fluttered around her frame as though moved by a personal breeze.

The collar around her neck looked familiar to Clint, at least the pendant that hung from the silver and jade piece. A circle containing a figure of a tree, its roots spreading out below to cover the bottom of the pendant; the Tree of Life.

Rhonwen was silent for a moment, her gaze going from Clint to Thor and Jane, then to Darcy before settling on Loki.

"Among my people Liadain is known as the Devourer of Men. She is unseelie, unlike most of our race. She hadn't always been, but eventually darkness took over her. From then on she only wanted one thing, to rule all living things." Rhonwen's eyes seemed to bore into Loki's, like she was looking past him and right into his heart.

"I'm afraid to ask, but why is she called the Devourer of Men?" Darcy squirmed a bit from her place on the floor. Devourer of Men wasn't a title one would give to someone you would invite round for drinks on a Saturday night.

Loki looked down towards the woman at his feet, a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Without thinking too much on it, he placed a hand on her shoulder and slowly leaned her against his legs.

"Liadain would take mortal lovers, when she grew tired of them she would kill them." Rhonwen leaned forward, her eyes slipping to Darcy before turning back to Loki.

"She has now set her sights on you. I promise you, she will stop at nothing to possess you, to have you as her own. Believe me, this is something you do not want." She set herself back in her chair, hands resting in her lap.

"Hey, I think death is probably worth it if it means wild sex with an elf. Not sure there could be a more pleasurable death. It beats the hell out of getting shot." Clint laughed; he always said he would prefer dying in bed. He had made the suggestion to Nat often enough, though she claimed she would kill him before he ever got the chance to even imagine himself in her bed.

Rhonwen's head whipped around, her eyes glaring into Clint's harshly, effectively shutting him up.

"There is never any pleasure for the men, only pain and death. She does not care for her lovers; at best she treats them as pets, at worst nothing more than instruments of her own pleasure. I have witnessed the death of one such mortal man myself. The day before she had him killed, she had tied him to a tree. He was unclothed, his body marred by scars and fresh cuts. It was obvious that he had not eaten in a long while. I don't doubt for a moment that she shall treat Loki the same." Rhonwen turned back to Loki, ignoring the looks of disgust from the others.

"You need to get any thoughts of accepting Liadain's offer out of your head. You will never be able to control her, she is far too powerful. It had taken all of us, all of us opposed to her to aid Odin in removing her from Midgard." Rhonwen watched calmly as Loki, in his anger, shot up from his chair, the mortal woman pushed to the side as he did so.

"Calm yourself, I did not look any further than what I had to, in order to find the information I needed. I had to know what your plans were, and I knew you wouldn't have willingly told me." She knew she took a risk by revealing her actions, but the situation was too dire to treat others with kid gloves.

"Loki, you weren't actually planning that, were you?" Darcy looked up towards Loki, her head now resting on Clint's legs. She knew he had been tempted, but surely he wasn't that stupid?

"It is none of your business what I am planning to do." Turning on the spot, Loki headed off towards the roof.

"Do not worry, Mortal Darcy, he has had thoughts yes, he is wavering back and forth, but ultimately I doubt he will." Rhonwen gave a small smile, the first one since she arrived, to Darcy. The girl's eyes looked wet, though Rhonwen knew the girl would never allow a tear to fall.

"So what, you're saying that Loki is redeemed now?" Clint looked like he wanted to laugh; a couple of weeks on Earth and Loki was somehow the good guy. Yeah right.

"No, but then again he probably won't ever fully be. He is chaos, and no one can really control chaos. If they think they do, it's nothing more than an illusion." Rhonwen sighed. It was sad how little Loki was truly understood. Not even his own father knew what he was, what he could be.

"I apologize, but I am growing weary. Where might I take my rest?" She suddenly felt the need to escape the mortals, unused to dealing with others besides her sister in the past thousand years.

"We could set you up a bed in the lab if you wish." Jane's voice was quiet as she spoke for the first time since the Weaver had shown up. She really wasn't sure what to make of any of it; Rhonwen, Loki, Liadain, whatever the hell that was going on between her friend and the god of mischief. It was all just a little too much for her.

"Thank you, but I wish to be outside. I have a need to be as close to the Earth as possible. It has been many, many years since I have been here, and my blood is calling out for it." She could feel it in her very bones, the desire to once again connect with her mother planet.

"Um, I wouldn't suggest out in the desert, we are a ways from the town, but people do still drive by. I guess you could sleep on the roof." Jane pointed towards the direction Loki had taken off to.

"That would be perfect, thank you." Rhonwen bowed to each in the room before heading out to the roof, and towards Loki.

* * *

 

Rhonwen stepped out onto the roof to find Loki sitting on the edge, his shoulders hunched and his face in his hands. The moment he heard her though, he stood, his shoulders straightening as he stretched to his fullest height.

"You can't hide from me, if I can so easily reach into your mind and see your thoughts, I can do anything." Rhonwen's laugh was breathy, like an echo on the wind.

"What  _are_  you?" Loki sneered as he looked back at her. He had read the book Darcy bought him, listened to what his mother had said, but he had never imagined a being powerful enough to peer into his mind without his knowledge.

"I am a Weaver, as I have said. One of the original races of Midgard, banished alongside of my brethren to the furthest corners of the nine realms." Rhonwen smiled slightly, moving to stand beside him. She could feel the powers radiating from him, even though they had been bound. She understood then why her cousin wanted him, why she would do everything in her power to have him. He was powerful, strong, enigmatic, and uncommonly handsome to the point of being beautiful.

"Ah, yes, Odin's banishment. This is something I do not understand. You say that on the whole, your people are a peaceful, harmless race. Why, when Odin refuses to interfere in the affairs of other races, would he banish an entire race from their home planet?" He knew Odin could be hypocritical, and suspected it in this case, but he still didn't understand the why of it.

"You know better than anyone that Odin does what he wants. He only uses that excuse when it suits him. Besides, we were the ones that asked for his help in the first place. Liadain was becoming too strong, her forces at the time too large.  
"Our laws had been such that interfering with mortals was a crime, unless it had been necessary in order to protect their race. Liadain had gotten it into her head that she was above them, that she had a right to rule as their queen." Rhonwen remembered the battle before the banishment, the memory as fresh in her mind as though it had happened only a month ago. Many died on both sides before Odin had been able to place the banishment. The only comforting thought was the fact that Liadain had lost more followers then they had that day.

"Are you not above them? You have powers that they can only dream about?" Loki took a step away from the edge of the roof, his hand sweeping out around him.

"We are no better or worse than the mortals. We do not have the right to rule them just because they do not have the same powers as we do. Liadain refused to understand this. We contacted Odin when she began going too far, knowing that he had the power to banish her and protect Midgard." Granted, they had never imagined that his prejudice and fear of their race would lead to an ultimatum; the banishment of the entirety of the Weavers, or to be left to their own devices.

"Why didn't you just kill her?"

"We should have, but you could say that sentiment got in the way." Rhonwen gave a rather ironic smile to Loki. One that made his teeth clench.

"She is still our cousin, and we do love her. It was foolishness on our part, hoping that a bit of a time out would eventually allow her to see the error of her ways, but love can do that to a person. I don't see any other way now, but to destroy her, even if she doesn't get her hands on you, she will find some other way."

They are both silent for a moment, contemplating the complexities of sentiment, love and mercy. It wasn't long before Loki turned back towards Rhonwen, a strange expression on his face.

"Odin is afraid of you, why?" Loki was shocked when Rhonwen just laughed, having expected her to become angry.

"As he should be. My sister and I would never do anything to harm him or Asgard, but as Weavers we do have the power to. We are able to reach places that he could never hope to. Only a few in Asgard could match us, your mother being one of them, but she too has her limits." She smiled at him, not having to say that he too counted as a match to the Weavers. The mere fact that Liadain was after him was enough evidence.

"Dreams, you can enter dreams, control them, even read minds, but what else? What is it about you that scares them so?" Loki pressed on, taking the few steps closer to Rhonwen, expecting her to back away. Though, she remained in place.

"We don't just control dreams…in one's dreams anything is possible. Liadain has been careful with you; she is reaching out, trying to coax you to her side. If she wanted to, she could force things upon you. She could whisper orders to you that once you woke you would believe were your own. Through your dreams she could control you, and those connected to you.  
"When we enter someone's dreams, someone's mind we enter a kind of world. When I went into your mind to ascertain your intentions I was also able to reach into the minds of all those connected to you in some manner. Odin, your mother, Thor, and Darcy. They are like threads in a tapestry, I can follow one and soon I can see the whole picture. I can also manipulate those threads, pulling at them, rethreading them in new patterns. In other words, I can unmake and remake you, and you would never know the difference.  
"This is what Odin fears, if we had the inclination we could enter his mind and through him work our way through Asgard, rewriting, rethreading anything and everything to suit us." Never had any of their race tried such a thing, not even Liadain. Still, it didn't stop those such as Odin from fearing that one day they would.

"Then why does she need me? If she can do all of that, why is she after me?" Loki felt unease settle into the pit of his stomach. To think that Liadain could reach others through his mind simply because he knew them, it was a disquieting thought.

"Because we do have limits as well. She needs to be able to break the banishment Odin has placed on Midgard; she needs you to get to him. You also control other kinds of powers that we don't have. Powers that would come in handy if one was trying to rule all of the nine realms." The Weavers were powerful, yes, but not one had the ability to pass between realms, or as strong an influence over illusion as Loki did.

"And what, dear Weaver, would happen if I ignored you and went ahead and joined Liadain?" A part of Loki wanted to know, to know if he could over power Liadain and gain the throne he so desperately wanted.

"Then, Dearest Prince, you would end up nothing more than a slave. She would chain you to her side, use you up for her pleasure and leave you nothing but a husk for her to control. She will rethread your mind until you can no longer remember your own name, and everything you care about in this world will met a very ugly end. For my cousin does not share." Rhonwen reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, her fingers softly caressing the pale flesh.

"But we both know you won't give in. There is something here you want more than power, something that has the potential to become more important than all the thrones in the nine realms. And that something would end up torn apart if you did, her blood would be on your hands." She smiled at him and let her hand slip down to her side. Loki just stood there watching her as she turned to look out over the town. He shook himself and turned to look out as well.

"You have no idea what it is I want." Loki could feel his heart beat fiercely against his ribcage as Rhonwen laughed. If he had his powers she would have been not but ashes.

"You forget, I have seen inside of your mind, and your heart. I know what it is that you desire Prince. And I know that very soon you will do whatever it takes to protect it. And it will be necessary, once Liadain knows about her, she will go after her.  
"I assure you she will not survive if she does. It does not bear thinking about what she will do to her. Remember that Prince, the next time you think about connecting yourself with my cousin."

* * *

 

Darcy watched Loki and their visitor from the doorway that led out onto the roof, her head resting against the doorframe. She couldn't hear what the two were saying, but she watched intently as they spoke. Darcy felt her stomach jump and fall to her feet as Rhonwen reached up and placed her hand lovingly against Loki's cheek. She really was an idiot. To think Loki would have ever even entertained the idea of her. Of course he would be attracted to the strangely beautiful woman, a woman that had more power in her pinky nail than Darcy ever would have; a woman that was not a mortal.

Deciding that her time was better spent elsewhere, Darcy turned around to walk back down to the lab. She hadn't taken but a few steps before she encountered Clint resting his back against the wall.

Darcy quickly wiped at her eyes hoping that none of her tears escaped. How long had he been standing there, watching her?

"I have to go and check on Loki and our visitor. Not sure I really trust that woman, and I really don't trust Loki." Clint had expected Darcy to snap at him, as she normally did when he expressed his hatred for Loki; instead she just nodded her head and pointed him toward the roof. Realizing that something wasn't right, he grabbed her arm, pulling her against his chest.

"Hey, are you ok? You look like someone just ran over your cat." Actually she looked like someone had ran over her, but Clint didn't think that was a wise choice of words.

"I'm fine, just feeling a bit sorry for myself, having all these amazing people around me is making me feel kind of inferior." Ok, so it wasn't so much Loki, Thor, or even Jane and Clint. It was Rhonwen, a woman that appeared perfect for the man she had the misfortune to crush on, but she really didn't want to hear Clint's thoughts on it.

"You are being silly, you know that? Having magical powers, being able to kick the fuck out of someone, or being a geek like Jane, those things don't make a person special; it is what is in a person's heart that does. And let me tell you, I've never met anyone more special than you, Darcy Lewis." Clint leaned down, pressing a kiss on her forehead. He hadn't been lying, he might not understand what she saw in Loki, but any person that could forgive and befriend someone like him had the best heart in the universe.

"Now, I'll see you later, yeah? I really need to talk to our new guest." Clint ran his thumb under her right eye, catching just the beginning of a tear, before releasing Darcy and watching as she descended down into the lab.

Once she had closed the bottom door, Clint turned to continue his way towards the roof, only to be confronted with Loki, who looked anything but happy.

Loki glared at Barton, his eyes flickering to where he had just seen Darcy leave. It took everything in him, to keep from pounding the Archer into the ground. Gritting his teeth Loki moved past Clint and further into the lab without a word.

Clint watched Loki go and shook his head, there was nothing he wanted to do more than shoot an arrow straight through him, but Fury had told him to play nice. Sometimes he really hated Fury.

When Clint reached the roof he found Rhonwen standing at the edge where he had caught both Loki and Darcy many times. Her hair and dress seemed to dance in the wind, twisting around her to some silent song. She turned around and gave him a smile before he was very far out of the door way, and he silently cursed. He sort of understood what Darcy was feeling; he was used to being able to sneak around without anyone hearing him. Apparently elves had very good hearing.

"And what may I help you with Assassin?" Rhonwen smiled as Clint shrugged his shoulders and came to stand beside her. The mortals had changed much throughout the years, and yet they remained the same. Warriors, rulers, bloodshed, power plays, she wasn't sure mortals would ever grow out of such things.

"Couldn't you just read my mind to find out?" He needed to know just how much of a danger she posed, what she was capable of. He wasn't yet sure that she hadn't been sent by Liadain and not Odin.

"I could, but I won't. I only did so with Loki because I needed to understand him in a way he would not have allowed me otherwise."

"And do you?" Clint watched as the Weaver gave a sad little smile.

"Yes, more than he knows himself actually." More than anyone really knew him, Rhonwen thought. In time there would be one other, but she doubted there would be anyone else after that.

"I'm not sure what to make of you being able to do that. Read minds and all, what is to stop you from reading any of the rest of ours?" It was a scary thought, to know that your thoughts were not your own, that the one place you could always count on to be completely private could be read like a book.

"Nothing, oh don't look so shocked. I don't plan on lying to you. Had I wanted to I could have read all of your minds. You would have never known, but I won't. Not unless it becomes necessary." Rhonwen allowed a small laugh at Clint's shocked face, she was sure he wasn't use to being told the truth.

"You do realize that my job is to neutralize any threat to our world?" As though to make his point, Clint placed his hand on the gun strapped to his hip, not that he thought it would actually do him any good against the woman.

"Yes, I know, but to kill me would be a great mistake. I mean no harm to your world or any other; I only mean to fix a mistake from long ago." Rhonwen's eyes took on a faraway look as she gazed back out across the town.

"And what mistake is that?"

"Not killing Liadain when I had the chance. She is a danger to all realms, and I should not have let my love for her get in the way." She turned back to Clint, her whole body facing him.

"What is to say that you would not allow your feelings towards her get in your way again?" He understood the problems that emotions caused. Only once had his capitulating to his emotions turned out to be the correct choice, all others had caused deaths and the ruin of lives.

"Because I have seen what she plans to do, through Loki's mind, the phantoms of the dreams she has sent him. I will not allow her to do that. I was born here on Earth, I was sister to your race once, and I will not see them destroyed because I did not have the courage to stop a monster." Rhonwen placed a hand on Clint's chest, his heart beating steadily against her palm.

"I promise you that I mean you no harm." She slid her hand down from his chest and rested it over his hand that was still curled around his gun.

"What about Loki? Will he?" Clint allowed Rhonwen to pry his fingers away from his weapon, his hand tingling from where she had touched him.

"No, I don't believe he will." Rhonwen looked towards the door that led back down inside the lab.

"Not now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to help out a bit on what Rhonwen looks like, the markings on her face are supposed to look like the ones on Bowie in the 86 film, Labyrinth where he played the Goblin King. Though Rhonwen's are all in various shades of green.
> 
> Also the necklace that she wears is real and can be seen on my Tumblr, username Rhiannon-A-Christy.
> 
> Now, before I get anyone saying that I'm going to turn this into a "Oh poor Loki, he is just a misunderstood baby." Know this, I'm not saying that he is misunderstood and just needs some loving and he will become good. Like Rhonwen said, he is chaos and she really didn't ever think he would ever be fully redeemed. My take on Loki here is based off of a conversation I have had with my father many times about the role of villains such as Loki and the Joker in their universes. You'll see more what I mean later on from both Rhonwen and Darcy. In this story Loki is neither good nor evil, yet he is both.


	8. Fools

Two days had passed and Rhonwen had yet to talk to anyone. She spent her days on the roof, only coming down when it was time to eat. She would smile and nod at everyone in passing, but she always looked so far away.

Loki had had enough of it, her very presence and silence put everyone on edge. Her words from the day before continued to ring in his ears. The dreams from Liadain remained absent, though his nights were filled with images of Darcy being tortured, and literally torn apart; her blood staining his hands.

He could take no more of it, much longer and he felt as though he would lose his already weak hold on his sanity.

He found her much as he had that first day, standing vigil on the roof of the lab. He had come to confront her, to berate her for putting such an abhorrent image in his head. But all words flew from his mind as he watched her. She stood silently, overlooking the town as though it were her duty to protect the mortals that dwelled there.

"Much has changed since I've been away. The mortals have advanced far beyond what any of us had expected. It is amazing what a people blind to magic can do." Rhonwen didn't smile as Loki came to stand beside her, she hardly acknowledged his presence. Her words could have been spoken to the wind for all the attention she paid him.

"Pathetic, not amazing." Loki sneered; the mortals knew nothing of true power. Had they allowed him to rule, he would have given them things far greater than anything their technology could ever create.

"Really? And do they have such devices as televisions, automobiles, and telephones on Asgard? Sure, their technology is a bit crude when compared to magic, but it is theirs, and that is what makes it amazing." Before the banishment, Rhonwen had often thought the way others with the gift of magic did. How could a race ignorant to the energies around them ever survive? It baffled her that people with no talent in magic would ever be able to thrive, and yet there they were, the dominant race on their planet. She wondered now, if maybe her people relied on magic too much. Would they ever be able to survive should they lose their ability to use it?

Loki remained quiet, unwilling to venture down the path that Rhonwen was leading him. For a time the two just stood there, looking out over the town as people milled about like insects, ignorant to the Weaver and the god that watched on.

After a while Loki turned away from the scene, his eyes landing on Rhonwen, only to be shocked at what was before him. In just two days the Weaver had changed. She looked tired, her face drawn and her lips pulled into a frown.

"You came here to help, so why have you hidden yourself away up here?" He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, even if he had expected an answer at all. It just seemed strange to him that after proclaiming her want and need to stop her cousin, she would do little more than sulk on a roof.

"I have not been hiding, I've been contemplating." Rhonwen's frown deepened.

"Contemplating? On what may I ask?" Loki cocked his head to the side, one brow rising elegantly towards his forehead.

"On how to kill Liadain. It will not be easy, she is very strong. My sister and I are second level Weavers. Strong, but not strong enough to take on someone like Liadain. She is of the highest class of Weavers." This was the third time that Rhonwen felt the sting of her station, the third time she would have to face her cousin knowing that her power would not be enough, would never be enough.

"Surely she can't be stronger than myself, or any of Asgard." Loki felt sick as he watched a rueful smile cross over Rhonwen's features. It was a belittling expression, one he had often seen his mother give.

"Oh, but she is. You are very powerful, but you do not possess the same capabilities that she does. Your weaknesses are her strengths." Carefully Rhonwen sat herself upon one of the chairs Jane normally kept on the roof. She spread her dress out before her, creating a circle on the gravel. Her hands laced together, going to rest on the shelf of her lap.

"Then it stands to reason that my strengths would be her weaknesses." Loki walked to stand before Rhonwen, but refused to seat himself. He found it very unnerving how much he saw of his mother in the Weaver. They both held an air of authority that made the strongest of men want to kneel before them. Something that Loki would refuse to do with Rhonwen. Let her try, but he would not be cowed by the woman.

"And what do you have in mind then, Sweet Prince?" She gave him a calculating look, the hint of a knowing smile turning up the corner of her lips.

"You required Odin's help when banishing Liadain from Midgard. What makes you think you won't need help now?" A plan slowly began to form in Loki's mind, a way to take control of the situation. Up until that moment he had felt as though adrift at sea, helpless against the tides and currents that dictated which direction he moved. It was a feeling he hated beyond all others, being unable to control his own future.

"And you would offer me this help?" The knowing smile fully fleshed out upon her mouth, as though Rhonwen had seen his actions before he had even thought them.

"I would have thought that was obvious, I don't see how I could have made that clearer." That smile made Loki angry, made him wish for his powers in order to punish her for even daring to tease him so.

"Calm yourself, Prince. I merely wish to enquire if this is a free offer, or is payment required in return?" Rhonwen couldn't help the relieved sigh when she noticed Loki's gaze turn to the door that led back to the lab. She had been right. The threads in his mind concerning Darcy Lewis had been thin, but there had been many and they had been growing thicker, weaving themselves into a tapestry that she knew well. Though he didn't understand it fully yet, Loki was falling for the quirky mortal girl. And Rhonwen wasn't past using those threads as a way to stop her cousin once and for all.

"You are no fool, you know I require payment." Loki ignored the look Rhonwen sent him, his mind too focused on his reward, and wondering when it had been that things had changed so much within him.

"And what shall that be?" She wanted him to say it, but Rhonwen knew him better than that. He wouldn't yet admit it to himself; he would never admit it to her.

"As I said, you are no fool."

* * *

 

Darcy glanced towards the stairs, where Loki had disappeared through over an hour ago, for the hundredth time. Clint watched from across the room, unbelieving. The girl was so obvious….ok, obvious to a spy as no one else seemed to notice it. It was both funny and disturbing. The girl had a crush on Loki; the thought made him shiver.

Darcy looked once more towards the stairs making Clint audibly sigh. He stood up from where had been pretending to keep watch, and made his way to Darcy. He was bored, seeing as nothing really was happening. The most exciting thing to happen since Fury sent him had been the arrival of Rhonwen, but she had remained quiet since. As much as it disturbed him, Darcy's crush would at least be distracting.

"What is this? Some sort of fairytale book?" Plopping down beside Darcy, he reached over and picked up the book she had been "reading," flipping through it.

"No, it's…ok, it sort of is a fairytale book, only it isn't." With a glare, Darcy snatched the book out of his hands.

Clint raised one brow at her, and that damned cocky smirk on his face that made Darcy want to wipe it off in the most painful way imagined. She huffed when he didn't respond, and flicked through the book until she came to a certain page.

"It's about the Weavers, and from what we can tell, it is the most accurate one we can find here on Earth. Look." She held out the book to him and Clint looked down shocked at the illustration.

It was obviously a print of an old painting, all cracked and discolored. But that wasn't what made Clint about fall out of his chair. No, it was the fact that the painting was of Rhonwen. She was standing at the edge of a riverbank, her head turned up towards the skies. She looked beautiful and sad at the same time, her hair seeming to flutter back in the wind, almost longer than the skirt of her dress.

Clint reached out and traced the image with his forefinger, curving it around the arch of her nose, the sweep of her cheekbones, and down along the trails of tears that dripped from her cheeks. Finally his finger came to rest on the swirling script that named the painting: The Widow.

"Loki figured out the book was real even before Rhonwen showed up, she just sort of confirmed it." Darcy slowly closed the book and laid it on the table in front of her. She wondered at the strange expression on Clint's face and the way he had traced the painting.

With the book no longer in front of him, Clint found himself brought back to reality, and to the brooding girl beside him.

"Alright, so what is the problem?" Clint leaned back in his chair, focusing on Darcy in order to rid himself of the disturbing feeling that the painting had created in him.

"Gah! The problem is that I've read this book from front to back, over and over, and I'm fucking scared shitless. Liadain is one nasty piece of work; she's a man eater…literally. One of the stories in that book talks about her feasting on the heart of a man that dared to refuse her." Darcy cringed; unfortunately that story had been accompanied by an illustration, a rather realistic one at that. She wasn't sure she would be able to eat meat for a while…ok maybe everything but bacon. Bacon was meat candy.

"Are you sure that is true? I mean, well….." Clint couldn't help feeling a little sick at that story. Though not enough to put him off his lunch, it took a lot to stop him from eating.

"I can't be sure without actually talking to Rhonwen about it, but what the hell am I supposed to do? Go up to her and ask her if her cousin usually engages in cannibalism? That isn't something you normally bring up in day to day conversation." Darcy rolled her eyes; she really couldn't believe she was actually discussing such a thing. Never in her life would she have thought she would be in a position where the word 'cannibalism' would even come up, ever. Life had gotten very strange for her anymore.

"No, but this isn't exactly normal is it? I mean we've got two Norse gods and an elf living here, I work as an assassin for a covert governmental agency, the same agency that employs you and Jane. Nothing really normal about it." Clint had to come to terms with that himself, long before he joined SHIELD actually. The sooner Darcy realized that the better off she would be.

"Ok, you have a point; still I can't ask her that! Even if that was a lie, Liadain is evil. Plain and simple. Rhonwen said it herself." Not that Darcy trusted Rhonwen all that much, but that could have to do with what she had seen between her and Loki.

"What are you really afraid of?" Clint was no fool, sure he knew Darcy wasn't lying about her fears about Liadain, but he doubted that was all that was bothering the young woman.

"I….fuck! I really do hate spies, I hope you know that?" Darcy stuck her tongue out at him, her arms crossing over her chest as she flung herself back in her chair.

"Duly noted. Now, answer the damn question." Clint mimicked Darcy, arms crossed over his chest.

"Alright, fine! I'm scared, ok, I'm scared that Loki will ignore Rhonwen and will give into Liadain. Not just because I really don't want him to go all evil again, but because I'm scared that Rhonwen is right and her cousin will eventually kill him." Pissed off, Darcy reached up and angrily wiped away the single tear that had escaped. Damn it! She had been doing so good. Fucking damn spies with their fucking damn observation skills!

"Darcy…Ok, first of all Loki never stopped being evil. So get that out of your head right now. Second, well second I'm not sure what I can say, Liadain killing Loki wouldn't be the worst thing to happen." The moment the words were out of his mouth he realized he must have made a mistake as Darcy immediately stood up, her hand flinging out to smack Clint upside the head.

"Thanks for making me feel better, fucking asshat. Next time you get to feeling all fuzzy and want to help…don't!" Darcy stalked off, leaving the book on the table and Clint sitting there rubbing his head. He really should have seen that one coming.

"Smooth Clint, real smooth." Jane stood just behind Clint, her hands on her hips in the universal sign of disapproval.

"What? I was only telling the truth." He shrugged his shoulders and shot her a look that said he thought she should agree with him.

"For you maybe, but you forget not everyone thinks like you. I may not like Loki, but Darcy is his friend and Thor is his brother. While you are here you better learn to play nice. I really don't think Fury would want to scrape you off the floor." Jane was getting really tired of the feud between Clint and Loki. Fine, she understood that Clint had a legitimate reason to hate Loki, but he needed to learn to restrain himself. Hell, if she could keep from killing Loki, so could Clint.

"Thor doesn't have his powers." Sure, he figured Thor could still beat his ass, but Clint was quicker on his feet.

"I wasn't talking about Thor. Don't underestimate Darcy, Clint. It's not just her taser you have to watch out for."

* * *

 

Darcy leaned her back against the building where she was sitting, her fingers fiddling with a piece of flint she had found in the dirt on the ground beside her. She gazed out towards the desert that stretched away from the town, but there were too many thoughts running through her mind for her to actually see anything. Thoughts of Loki, Loki with Rhonwen, Loki going all evil, Loki being taken by Liadain. Just the night before she had woken up in a sweat, the image of a faceless woman with pointed ears ripping Loki's heart from his chest and eating it still vivid before her eyes.

She closed her eyes, wishing in that moment that Thor had never touched down on Earth all that time ago. Things would have continued to be boring; she most likely would have finished her internship with Jane and continued through college. She would have never become good friends with Jane, ever met Clint or Loki, but her heart would have been at least intact.

The presence of someone beside her interrupted her thoughts. She figured it was either Jane, come to comfort, or Clint to make up, but when she opened her eyes it was to find Thor sitting on the ground beside her. He gave her a face splitting smile and reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"My brother is very lucky to have the heart of a woman such as you." Thor ran a single, thick finger down her jaw, giving her chin a soft tap before he sat back fully. He had seen women fawn over his brother before, back home they would practically fall at his feet. But they had all wanted something, a means to gain his attention, the prestige of having bedded one of the princes. He knew Darcy could care less about any of that, she liked Loki for who he was, and not what she could gain from him.

"Lucky him, what about me? I'm sitting here gushing all over a guy that has the hots for another." Darcy tossed the flint in front of her, sighing as the stupid thing fell not a foot away. There was a reason she had never gotten into sports.

"What is it that you speak of? Surely not the Lady Rhonwen?" Truly, Darcy could not believe that his brother had eyes for anyone but her? Rhonwen intrigued him yes, but then again she did him as well. She and her kind were unknowns to them, beings of great power that frightened even their father.

"No Thor, I mean Jane. Of course Rhonwen. She is a magic user the same as him, she isn't mortal. Not like me." She really hated how pathetic she sounded. Hadn't she got over brooding over guys in high school?

"No, she is not. But that has nothing to do with attraction. I can not tell you if Loki is enamored with the Lady, but you would do well to find out yourself before you do anything." Thor leaned down until his shoulder bumped hers, happy to see a small smile form on her face.

"Is that your way of saying don't jump to conclusions?" Darcy bumped her shoulder back into his. There was just something about Thor that made a person happy. When he had his powers he was fucking scary as shit, but other than that he was just a sweet guy that hated those around him to be sad.

"Yes, Lady Darcy, it is." Thor reached down and took Darcy's hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Do you think Loki will betray us, that he'll join Liadain?" Darcy looked away from Thor, her eyes staring up to the skies. She feared to hear his answer, scared that he would say yes.

"I do not know, but we can only hope that he will find something more important to him than ruling. For our sake, and for his."

* * *

 

Dinner was a quiet and awkward affair that evening; Darcy wouldn't talk to Clint, who refused to acknowledge that Loki was even in the room. Thor and Jane sat beside each other, talking quietly, every now and then looking towards Darcy and Loki, who were both sending covert glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. And Rhonwen sat quietly, staring into space as she ate.

Darcy was the first one up, setting her plate in the sink before rushing back out behind the lab where she had spent her afternoon. Loki finished after that, following Darcy outside. Unlike Thor, Loki didn't sit down on the ground, just leaned his back on the building and looked down at her.

"I don't think I have ever seen you this quiet." Not even when she slept had he seen her so quiet. While awake she normally babbled on about this and that, never really saying anything, but not because of lack of intelligence. Darcy was smarter than she liked to let on.

"I'm not quiet, I'm just not talking." Darcy looked to where she had thrown the piece of flint that afternoon and thought about retrieving it. In the end though she really didn't want to get up; so just drew random patterns in the dirt at her hip.

"Same thing, what is the matter? You looked as though you would enjoy gutting Barton in there." Not that he blamed her; he wanted to gut the bird himself most of the time.

"Right now I wouldn't mind…..Loki, can I ask you a question?" Finishing her drawing with a flourished swirl, Darcy pulled her hand back to her lap and looked up at the man beside her.

"You may, but be warned that my answer may not be what you wish it to be." Never before had he felt unnerved by a question. No matter what anyone asked him he always had some quick witted answer, some lie he could whip out without thought.

"Are you tempted by Liadain?" Darcy had expected Loki to snap at her, or to wave off her question like it was nothing. Instead he stood there, his eyes focused on the desert before them.

"Yes, very much so. She offers me power, freedom, and a crown. Everything I have desired for so long." It was a strange feeling for him, to feel compelled to tell the truth. For some reason still unknown to him, he wanted her to see the real him, not the lies and masks he wore for others. He wanted her to see him as he truly was, even if in the end she hated him for it.

"No, Loki, she offers you shackles. You can't actually believe that she means to offer you a partnership? She plans to rule you, control you like a puppet. Use your power in order to gain the universe. She wants to chain you to her like some dog, and you are actually thinking about accepting it?!" She was angry, how could a man as smart as Loki actually believe such a lie? Was he so blinded by hate and envy that he could not see what Liadain was truly after?

Angered at her words, Loki reached down and grabbed Darcy by her shoulders, dragging her up so she was dangling off the ground, their faces level.

"Do not presume to understand what is going on." He could feel the heat of Darcy's flesh beneath his hands; feel her tremble as he held her before him.

"Oh, but don't I? I've read that book; I've listened to what Rhonwen had to say. Liadain will use you up and then kill you. And you are actually thinking about letting her. How could you?" Darcy's voice became a harsh whisper, her words coming out raspy in her anger.

"Why would you care? I'm nothing more than a villain, better off dead." Loki shook her a bit, not hard enough to hurt her, just enough to drive his point home. Couldn't she see who he was, what he was?

"No, Loki, Chaos, you are chaos. The Balancer. You are neither good nor evil; you are a thousand different shades of gray. And I do not wish to see you dead. We  _are_  friends, right?" Darcy blinked as Loki set her back down, his hands lingering longer than they should before he let them fall back his side.

Loki didn't say anything, his mind focused on just one thought. Without a word he turned and went back inside.

Friends. Of course,  _friends_.

* * *

 

Clint followed Rhonwen when she went to the roof after dinner; there were a few things he wanted to ask her. When he stepped out onto the roof it was to Rhonwen, turned towards the doorway waiting for him. She gave him a soft smile, but he realized her eyes lacked any sparkle.

"Good evening Assassin." Rhonwen clasped her hands behind her back and watched as the mortal took a few steps closer. She had known he would seek her out, he had been wanting to talk to her again, his curiosity not sated after that first night.

"Why do you call me that? I mean, I don't call you elf." Why did people like Rhonwen always make him feel inferior? Though he guessed assassin was better than Loki's favorite name for him; minion.

"Weaver, I'm not actually an elf, we share the ears but that is it. And I call you Assassin because that is your profession; to my people it is a sign of respect." Rhonwen smiled a bit more at the look of surprise on his face. She suspected he didn't receive the respect he deserved, not with the partners he worked with.

"Oh, well could you maybe just call me Clint?" Clint shrugged his shoulders, hoping he wasn't making some kind of faux pas.

"Of course, Clint. Shall we sit?" Rhonwen bowed her head partly and then waved her hand out towards the chairs.

"Y-aheam-Yes." Clint was a bit nervous, and he really wasn't sure why. He had been around strong women for years, Nat, Hill, Pepper, they just sort of came with the territory of working for SHIELD. But there was something about Rhonwen that made Clint sweat and babble like a little boy.

Clint took a chair as Rhonwen gracefully sat down in the other, her skirt circling around her..

"So, you wish to know more about what I have gleaned from Loki's mind?" Rhonwen had never met a mortal more conflicted. He held so much hate, so much hurt, and yet had the capacity for great compassion and love.

"I thought you said you wouldn't read my mind?" Clint knew he should have been angrier, but he kind of expected it.

"I didn't; not really, I simply skimmed the top most threads." Rhonwen wasn't even sure she wanted to follow his threads even further into his mind. Those she had read had been tangled, dyed bright red with hate and anger.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." Clint leaned back in his chair, his legs going to straddle the sides as he made himself comfortable.

"Very well." Rhonwen gave another nod of her head. It was an easy request as she really had no desire to enter his mind again.

"Well, are you going to tell me about Loki?" Clint clasped his hands behind his head, trying to give the air of nonchalance, even though he was a fucking nervous wreck inside.

"No, only because there is nothing you need to know. He is not planning on joining Liadain, at this point in time he is not a threat to Earth or the other realms." Rhonwen knew he wouldn't believe her, because he didn't want to.

"But he could be in the future?" It was really less of a question and more of a statement really; Clint and Rhonwen both knew this.

"Yes, but then again, so could you. What do you want me to tell you? Do you think I will give you a reason to justify the bloodlust you have for Loki?" A bloodlust that Rhonwen knew would send him to ruin if he continued to allow it to rule him.

"I don't…."

"Yes, you do. I have no need to see your threads to know this. You wish to kill Loki for what he did to you, for what happened in New York. But I tell you this now; his death will not free you. Only you can do that." She doubted he would listen to her, a man like Clint had a hard time dealing with a bruised pride.

"What are you, some kind of fucking counselor where you're from?" Clint sat up straight, ready to bolt back downstairs if the conversation continued much further.

"No, I've just had many years more experience than you." Rhonwen laughed, amused by Clint's brash way of speaking.

"How old are you?" Clint looked Rhonwen over, she looked maybe thirty at the most, but he knew because of Thor that appearances could be deceiving.

"Just a month past I entered my fifteen hundredth year."

Clint sat up straight, his eyes wide as he looked at her. Fifteen hundred years, was she fucking kidding?!

"Well you…you look real good, um beautiful actually." Clint cleared his throat, why the hell did he sound like he swallowed a fucking frog?

"Thank you, Clint, and you are very handsome." Rhonwen laughed softly, reaching over to run her hand down his cheek.

Clint cleared his throat again, ok so that was why she made him nervous. Fucking beautiful woman, sweet and mysterious. Yeah, if she could kick ass he knew he would be panting after her like a puppy.

"So, about your cousin, what are we going to do?" Clint tried to compose himself; all he needed was to insult their only help by acting like some randy teenager.

"Loki and I have started to form a plan. But we are going to need your help." Rhonwen turn on her chair to face him fully, no hint of a smile on her face any longer.

"What could I possibly do to help against someone that can use magic?" Sure, he helped kick Loki's ass, but that had been with the help of the rest of the Avengers. Really, Thor and the Hulk did most of the work; he had just blown the fucker out of the sky.

"What we are going to do will not go over well with the others, mostly with Miss Lewis. I need you to make sure she doesn't do anything; that she won't try to stop us." Reaching forward, Rhonwen took Clint's hands into her own. When everything started she needed someone to take care of Darcy, Jane would be needed with Thor, Clint was the only choice.

"What the hell are you guys going to do?" Clint laced his fingers with hers, amazed at how small her hands were compared to his.

"You will know when it is time." She flashed him a smile, her thumb making one single circle across his wrist.

"Great, so what now?" Clint pulled his hands away from hers, leaning back in his chair. Secrets were a daily part of his life, but it didn't mean he actually enjoyed them.

"Now, why don't you tell me about Earth? It has been many years since I've been here, things have changed very much."


	9. The First Threads Are Woven

Loki felt his breathing increase, his heart pounding so hard he thought it would beat right out of his chest. The chains that bound him to the wall were too tight for him to do much more than move his arms an inch.

Before him a phantom draped in white circled a silk gown clad Darcy, her feet making no sound. He tried to call out to her, but he found that the muzzle Thor had locked him in was once again in place.

He watched in horror as Liadain reached down, grabbing a fistful of Darcy's hair and yanked her up off the floor. He tried to scream, but no sound would make it past the contraption on his mouth.

Liadain tore the fine white gown from Darcy's body, leaving her as nude as the day she was born. He pulled at his bonds, but they held fast. He knew he had to get free, because he knew what was going to happen next.

With a devilish smirk, Liadain reached down with one long taloned hand and sliced a shallow line down between Darcy's breasts, blood beading along her pale flesh. Tears blurred Loki's vision as Liadain dragged the now crying and bleeding Darcy before him, dropping her at his feet.

His bonds disappeared, but he could not seem to control his body. Liadain stood behind him, a dagger in her hand. He grasped the dragon hilt when she held it out to him, his eyes focused on the curving blade, so like the undulating body of a snake.

Liadain placed her hands upon his shoulders, her lips pressed against his ear as she whispered frightening things, all manner of deprived acts she wished him to perform on the woman at his feet. They disgusted him, but he could not control his body still.

He kneeled down upon the wet stone floor, slipping his hand along the back of Darcy's neck, cradling her like one would a lover. Darcy gave him a watery smile, her hand reaching up to cup his face. He smiled in return and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. At that moment he brought the dagger down, plunging it into her side. He pulled back as his hand filled with warm blood, and there he saw her, pale and dead, a smile still spread across her face.

* * *

 

Loki woke up in a cold sweat; his heart was racing and his breathing shallow. He looked over to where Darcy slept soundly, her body tangled within her sheets.

As quickly as he could, he pushed his covers off and moved over to sit on the edge of her bed. He ran his hand down her cheek before tracing a line from neck to hip. He let out a heavy breath once he assured himself that she but slept. Still quaking from his dream, Loki placed his head in his hands, feeling the overwhelming urge to weep.

Unlike the dreams he had back on Asgard, these felt uncontrolled. He could not sense Liadain, no presence at all. No, these were his fears. And from what he now knew; fears that were far from unfounded.

Loki turned his head in his hands, looking back at Darcy. She slept there so soundly, unaware of the danger around her. Of what danger he now put her in by being attracted to her. If he had been a better man he would leave, but he was selfish and even if Darcy wasn't his he wasn't about to just go.

He reached out another hand and picked up a lock of her hair. He twisted it around his finger, letting it slide down and off before picking it up to repeat the action.

"You understand now why you can't join my cousin?"

Loki's head whipped around to glare at the woman only a couple of yards away. Rhonwen wore only a thin sheath of white silk, the material both revealing as well as modest as it clung to every curve yet covered even the tips of her bare feet.

"How…" Loki sneered as Rhonwen held up her hand and walked without a sound to stand beside him.

"When we manipulate the threads in someone's mind, they are fully unaware of it. You only knew about Liadain sending you those dreams because she wanted you too." Rhonwen looked down on the sleeping form of the mortal girl. She had taken no pleasure in what she had done, but sometimes one had to be cruel to be kind. And before the end she knew she would have to be very cruel.

"How dare you try to manipulate me! To use Darcy…." It took everything in Loki to keep from ripping the Weaver apart as she set a finger on his mouth.

"I'm not trying to manipulate you, only make you understand. What I showed you will come to be if you don't banish every thought of joining my cousin. I have seen her do that and much worse. If you wish to protect her, you will need to keep the promise you made me on the roof." Slowly she removed her finger, her hand moving to run quickly through his hair before allowing it to fall at her side.

"And what if things go wrong, what if I die?" And he knew there was a very great chance that he would. In the end he might have to leave Darcy anyway.

"And what of it? She will still live." Rhonwen nodded her head towards Darcy before gliding her way back to the roof.

For a long time after Loki remained beside the mortal girl, the image of her death by his hand still vivid to his waking mind.

* * *

 

"You are scary, I hope you know that." Clint stepped out onto the roof just moments after Rhonwen. He had seen her move into the lab over an hour before and had followed. He had watched as she stood across the room and just looked at Loki. It was a bit frightening, because not ten minutes later Loki began to toss and turn, mumbling and sobbing in his sleep.

"So I've been told." Rhonwen took a deep breath, steadying herself. Her talents had always been directed more towards the light, weaving dreams to calm, not fright. Out of the two of them, nightmares came naturally to Bronwen. It took much out of her to weave a nightmare, but she would do so as many times as necessary to ultimately finish Liadain.

"What did you make him dream about?" Clint had sort of felt sorry for the man, watching him cry out in his sleep, helpless as he was.

Rhonwen sighed and looked at Clint then, a man that was almost entirely defined by his profession. There he stood in a pair of black sweats and t-shirt, looking ready to kill as much as he did to sleep.

"About her death; about her blood on his hands." Blood that she could feel on her own hands; blood that she feared would one day join the myriad of others if she did not succeed.

"You made him dream about your cousin killing Darcy? Harsh." Clint winced; yeah he might just pity Loki…well maybe.

"No, I made him dream about plunging the dagger in her himself." Rhonwen was glad she had been able to keep her voice steady, for after the dream she had woven she wanted to fall down weeping.

"Remind me never to piss you off." Yeah, ok, so maybe he did pity the man. Just a little.

Rhonwen gave a breathy laugh and walked to the edge of the roof, looking out over the land. It still amazed her how much had changed. Not just the landscape, but the people. They didn't even believe in magic anymore. The time of her kind was well and truly over.

"I only sent him the truth, Clint. Liadain, she is cruel beyond anything you have ever seen. Should she find out that Loki holds affection for her, she will use that against him;" against them all.

"Isn't that what you are doing?" There was no anger in Clint's voice, no real accusation, just curiosity.

"Yes, but I'm doing it so that they may live. Liadain will torture Darcy, and I have little doubt that she would make him be the one to kill her." Liadain was cruel, she delighted in the pain she could cause. Rhonwen knew that most intimately.

"Damn, I miss the days of fighting corrupt governmental officials. At least they didn't give me nightmares." What had happened to the good old days of assassinations, guns and arrows? Clint wasn't sure he liked this new world, with crazy Norse gods and evil bitch elves.

Rhonwen turned around to smile at Clint, her features softening as she gazed upon the mortal assassin.

"Would you like me to sooth away your nightmares?" She held out her hand to him, and Clint swallowed hard. He had never seen anything like Rhonwen in real life. There she stood, draped in a while silk gown that clung enticingly to her body. She was illuminated by the moonlight, making her glow against the dark sky.

Deciding to take a chance, Clint reached out and set his hand in hers, allowing her to come into the circle of his arms. Rhonwen looked up at him and smiled shyly before leaning up and capturing his lips with hers.

Clint pulled her closer to him, his arms wrapping around her as they kissed. Fury would probably have something to say about what he was doing, but at the moment he couldn't have cared less.

* * *

 

Water trickled somewhere off in the distance, echoing around the dark chamber. The only light in the room came from the smoldering coals in two golden braziers. In the center of the chamber Liadain sat perched upon a simple wooden throne, her long pale body draped in ghostly white.

Liadain rubbed her temples, huffing in frustration as she failed once again.

"Why can't I find you?!" She dropped her hands to the side, fingers twitching to tear at something.

He must have told of the dreams, and someone was now helping him. There was no other explanation; she could still feel his life force in the threads she desperately clung to, so he remained alive.

"Damnation!"

* * *

 

Morning came all too quickly, and Loki found himself still sitting on Darcy's bed, watching her stir as the sunlight filtered into the room. When she started to mumble as she woke, he stood and crossed the room, he had no desire for her to find him watching her.

Darcy yawned as she fully woke and sat up. She rubbed at her eyes, looking over to Loki's cot only to find that he was already up. She scanned the room until she found him at the windowed wall, watching the sun rise.

She stood up, tossing the throw from the foot of the cot around her shoulders. She moved quietly until she stood beside Loki. Hoping that he wouldn't kill her, she leaned her head down so it rested on his arm. She tried to quash the disappointment when he moved his arm, but was surprised when instead of berating her he wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her to his side. Taking a chance, she rested her head against his chest and wound her arms around his middle.

"The sunrises on Midgard are strange compared to Asgard." Loki curled his fingers around Darcy's shoulder, pulling her just a bit tighter against his chest. He needed to feel that she was alive, that he was not now dreaming and would wake later to find himself bathing in her blood.

"I'm sure the ones on Asgard are a sight to see." Darcy told her heart to calm down, to read anything more into what was happening than there was would only end up hurting her.

"They are, every shade of color you can imagine and some you never even knew existed fill the horizon. It is….it is beautiful actually. Until this moment I never thought so, but they are." Loki looked away from the sunrise, his eyes resting on the girl that had curled herself against him. He watched as sunlight played across her sleep tangled hair, creating strands of gold and red amongst the mahogany tresses.

"You miss it, don't you?" Darcy felt Loki squeeze her shoulders, and she followed the movement further into his chest.

"I've known no other home."

They were silent after that, only moving from each other and from the window once they saw Thor and Jane walking towards the lab. Darcy went to dress while Loki grabbed the book she had bought him and sat down at the table.

Jane started in on making a simple breakfast as soon as she entered the lab with Thor helping, and Loki could only shake his head. Never would he have thought to see Thor doing servant's work. The only time he would ever make food was when they would be camped out either after or before a battle. Even then, he only did it when all others refused. He seemed to have really changed.

The smell of eggs and bacon pulled everyone to the "kitchen" of the lab, all of them grabbing a plate and finding somewhere to sit. Darcy sat down beside Loki, digging into her food as he simply picked at his.

It wasn't so much that he disliked Midgardian food, it was alright, but he wasn't hungry. The image of him plunging the dagger into Darcy's side was still at the forefront of his mind, and it made him sick. He pushed his plate away and got up, leaving the lab to go to sit out back where Darcy normally did.

It wasn't long before Rhonwen joined him, and he had to calm himself so he wouldn't lash out.

"I can't get that image out of my head. I can feel the heat of her blood on my hands, the smell, and the taste. Is this Odin's torture, his punishment for what I have done?" Loki balled his hands into fists, a rebellious tear slipping down his cheek.

"No, it is simply a reminder. Do not let it drive you mad; use it to fuel your determination. Let it be the image that will follow you into battle so you may prevent it." Rhonwen placed a hand over one of Loki's fists, rather shocked when he didn't pull away.

"What must I do?" Loki leaned back against the wall of the building, looking up at the sky. He was even more determined than the night before.

"My sister will be coming soon, we will know of the number of allies then. That is when we may proceed with our plan, once we know how strong we will be." She could fell the fear, the anger, and the uncertainty in Loki. It radiated off him like heat from a flame.

"What if I succumb to Liadain? What then?"

"Then we are all doomed and Darcy will die."

* * *

 

Darcy watched as Rhonwen followed Loki out of the lab, and sighed down into her eggs. She knew she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up while she had been watching the sunrise with him, but the way he had treated her then. She had felt like it was only the two of them in all the nine realms.

"Are you alright Darc?" Jane leaned across the table, placing a hand on her young friend's shoulder. Darcy had been acting strange lately, and Jane feared she knew the reason for it.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just feeling a bit of cabin fever. I think I'm going to take a trip down to the library." Darcy set her fork down on her plate and rose from her chair.

"Ok, while you are there I have a book on reserve, could you pick it up for me?" Jane breathed a sigh of relief when, after Darcy nodded and left, Clint followed her. Clint was a good man, even if he could be a bit of a pain when it came to Loki. She hoped that maybe he could make her friend forget about the alien god, as long as he didn't stick his foot in it again.

Darcy looked over to Clint as he ran up next to her and raised a brow.

"I'm supposed to be watching out for all of you. Even though they don't have their powers right now, Thor and Loki can protect Jane, and Rhonwen can protect herself. You on the other hand need…."

Darcy whipped out her taser and just looked at him.

"Yeah, that thing might work on mortal men, but we both know there are bigger monsters out there. I'm coming with you."

Darcy just shrugged her shoulders and continued down to the library.

"Look, Darcy, I'm sorry about what I said, alright? I shouldn't have said that about Loki, no matter what I believe. Can you forgive me for being an idiot?" Clint turned so he was walking backwards, his lips stuck out in an exaggerated pout. Darcy just looked up at him and rolled her eyes.

"No use in forgiving you for something you will just do again, but I do forgive you for what you said."

Clint stopped walking for a moment until he realized what Darcy had just said.

"Hey!" Clint ran after Darcy as she sprinted off towards the library laughing. He would teach her to call him an idiot.

* * *

 

When Loki returned to the lab it was to find both Darcy and Clint missing. He clenched his teeth, hating the fact that she still persisted in choosing that birdbrained mortal over him.

Loki climbed the stairs to the roof, expecting to find the two there, only there was no sign of them. He checked every place around the lab where Darcy normally worked or hid, but there was neither hide nor hair of her.

"Darcy is not here, Brother. She went to the library with Barton. She informed us she would be back later." Thor placed a hand on Loki's shoulder only to have it thrown off.

Loki nodded though he was still clenching his teeth. He turned on his heel and went back to what he seemed to do every day, reading that stupid book.

Rhonwen watched from across the room and shook her head. Those two were so blind. She smiled as she thought about the night before, the way Clint had kissed her and held her. It had been many, many years since she had felt the touch of another. It was time that she changed that.


	10. Promises

Days past as they had been since Loki was first sent to Earth, silently and slowly. No word had yet come from Rhonwen's sister, or Asgard. It was frustrating to say the least, though Loki was more than a little glad that he remained hidden to Liadain. Not that his nights weren't filled with terrors, not since Rhonwen had woven him the dream of Darcy's death.

He hadn't been able to sleep much since that, for every time he closed his eyes he saw another horror, another way that Liadain would use him to murder Darcy. Instead every night he did much as he was doing then, leaning back against the wall his cot was pushed against, and watched over Darcy.

He set his head back and closed his eyes, hoping he could at least get a couple of minutes of terror free sleep before sunrise.

* * *

 

Darcy struggled in the iron grip of the woman above her. She screamed, scratched and bit, but the woman just kept dragging her along. She could feel the material of the white gown she wore rip as it was dragged across the ground. Sharp stones dug into her hips, cutting her flesh.

When she thought that she could take no more of it; that she would surely pass out from the pain, the woman tossed her away. Darcy looked up from her place on the floor, her eyes sweeping around her.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked around the stone chamber, there above her stood the woman that had been dragging her, and beside her, Loki.

Hope gathered in her breast, Loki would put a stop to this madness, he would surely rescue her. She reached her arm out towards him, silently begging him to take her away. The tears swelling behind her eyes fell as he only sneered at her before walking to stand beside the woman.

"And what is this?" Loki refused to look at her again, his back straight as he stood and turned away.

"A gift. Do you not like it, my Pet?" The woman's voice was thick with false affection. It poured from her mouth like fetid honey, the man before her lapping it up greedily.

"Oh, I think I just might." Loki finally turned to look back down at Darcy, an evil smirk spreading across his face.

"I thought you would. So, go on then, play." The woman stroked a hand down Loki's cheek, in a way that would have been loving had she not been sneering down at the girl on the floor.

Darcy continued trying to get Loki to help her, her arms raised above her towards him. Hope blossomed in her breast once more as he kneeled in front of her, his hand lifting up to cup her face. She smiled at him.

"I knew you would help me." She melted into his arms, feeling safe until she heard his bitter laugh. He leaned down as though to kiss her, but at the last moment turned to lick a line from her jaw to her temple.

"Oh, that depends on what you mean by 'help.'" He pulled his face back just far enough that she could see the dagger in his other hand.

"Shall we play?" Loki's words drifted across her cheek as he brought the dagger down, lodging it into her side.

* * *

 

Darcy woke herself up screaming, her breathing hard as she tried to take in much needed air. Arms gathered her to a hard chest, and it took a moment for Darcy to realize that she was being held by Loki. For just a second she wanted to struggle, still seeing the Loki of her nightmare, but his soft soothing whispers to her eased her mind. She was safe, this was not dream-Loki, the man holding her so tightly to him had not joined Liadain.

She wrapped her arms around him, holding onto him as tightly as she could as he continued to whisper to her, telling her that she was safe. When she was finally able to stop shaking she looked up at him. He looked shaken himself, though in that moment all she could see was what a powerful presence he made. She laid her head back down on his chest and squeezed him to her.

"Promise me that you will never allow Liadain to get her claws into you?" She gathered fistfuls of his shirt in her hands, not caring if she accidently scratched him along the way.

"Darcy…" Loki laid his head on top of hers, holding her as close as he could without hurting her.

"No! Promise me! That you will do whatever you have to. Promise me that you won't join her." She knew she was frantic and irrational, but with the nightmare still fresh in her mind she couldn't have cared less. She needed him to promise her, needed to know that what she had dreamed would never come to pass.

"I can not make you that promise." Loki ran a hand through Darcy's hair, his fingers pressing a little harder than necessary into her scalp. He refused to release her as she looked up at him, fresh tears shinning in her eyes.

"What?" She thought she would be sick, she had known he was tempted, but had been sure he had not made up his mind. Not after everything that had happened.

"I may not have a choice, Darcy." Loki hated the anger that took over her face, the look of revulsion directed towards him.

"PROMISE ME! God damn it, promise me!" Darcy just held herself back from actually pounding her fists against his chest; instead she yanked on his shirt until it pulled tight against his back.

Loki slipped his hand from her hair and cupped her face, setting his forehead on hers, his eyes closing as he breathed her in.

"Alright, I promise….I promise."

* * *

 

Clint sat up from the pallet he had been sleeping on, pulling a blanket around his nude body as he stood to walk over to where Rhonwen was standing. She looked exactly the same way she had the night she had first woven a dream for Loki.

"What did you make him dream of tonight?" It really irked him that he was beginning to pity the fucker, but it was hard not to knowing what Rhonwen had been doing to him.

"Nothing, I wove one for Darcy." Rhonwen felt a pain in her very core, dreams and nightmares were always woven from the thoughts, fears, and emotions of those who would receive them. She had not expected the amount of hope that Darcy held for Loki, hope that he would turn from Liadain, hope that he would actually see her, and hope that in the end he would find peace. Using that hope and her growing love for him in such a manner left her feeling drained. She endured it only because she knew she would have to do what she must in order to save the entire universe.

"Shit, do I even want to know?" If he felt pity for Loki, he knew he felt absolute horror for Darcy. The girl didn't deserve what was happening to her. In fact she deserved more than someone like Loki could offer her. Clint was surprised, but he had found himself caring for the plucky girl.

"No." Rhonwen's voice was short, but held the taste of weariness.

"Do I need to go down to her?" Clint nodded his head towards the stairs, ready to rush down there if needed.

"Loki is taking care of it." She waved her hand absently, as though Clint should have already figured that out.

"You know, you meddle more than a mother-in-law. Wenny, why did you weave a dream for Darcy?" Clint ran a hand through his sleep mussed hair; he was beginning to think dealing with Tony Stark would be less frustrating.

"Loki needs something to fight for. He no longer has his family, his world, or his friends. He has not yet passed the point of no return, not like Liadain. Though if he continues to have nothing he will soon cross it." Men without something important in their lives could be dangerous, with nothing to live for Loki would soon seek out her cousin, for there would be nothing left but his lust for power.

"Why Darcy?" He didn't understand why it had to be Darcy, why it couldn't be one of the women in town or another Weaver. Surely there were other options out there?

"I'm not meddling in something that wasn't already there. The connection between them had already been established before either of us got here, I'm just tightening those threads between them." Rhonwen turned to look at the man she had taken as her lover.  
She knew he disapproved of the building relationship between his friend and Loki, but the only hand she had in it was to advance something that would have happened regardless of her presence.

"So, you are saying that Darcy will…." Clint cringed at the thought that passed through his head. He had known the two were attracted to each other, but he had hoped to remain ignorant to the full extent of it for as long as possible.

"I am saying that Loki will fight for Darcy, in turn he will help me destroy my cousin and save all nine realms from a fate worse than death. I don't see how you can have a problem with this." Rhonwen raised one swooping brow, her voice just this side of condescending.

"It's not so much that I have a problem with you saving the universe, but the way you are doing it. You are manipulating things." Clint pinched the bridge of his nose; he couldn't seriously believe that his first fight with Rhonwen was about Loki. Ok, not fully about him, but he was at the center of it.

"Of course I am. I am a Weaver, it is in our nature. We are able to see the threads that create dreams, nightmares, connections, lives. We can see them as they weave, tangle and knot. As they fray and break. It is bred in us the want, the need to touch those threads, to weave them in such a way that the world runs smoothly. I could no more stop weaving than you could stop breathing. It is who I am. Would you really want me any other way?" Rhonwen had sadly not anticipated such a problem between them, and she found herself worried that he would be unable to accept her for who and what she was.

Clint walked closer, opening the blanket to gather Rhonwen in his arms. She leaned her head down against his chest, listening to him breathe.

"No, I wouldn't. You are perfect."

* * *

 

Loki refused to let go of Darcy until she fell back to sleep, not that she complained. He kept looking around the room for Rhonwen, surely she had been the one to send Darcy a dream. But she was not there.

Once Darcy was asleep he laid her back down and stood up. Her voice, pleading with him to make that promise, just kept ringing in his ears. Never before had lying bothered him, but he could barely spit out the lie when he promised Darcy he wouldn't allow Liadain to get to him.


	11. Tapestries

Rhonwen turned as the Dreamscape before her began to unravel, reweaving itself to resemble the garden located along the south wall of the home she shared with her sister. It was a beautiful place, filled with singing birds and a crystal clear lake, but it didn't hold a candle to the Mother, the Earth of old.

She smiled and held out her hand as she saw Bronwen approach from behind a tree.

"What news have you, Sister?" Rhonwen's fingers curled around those of her sister, relieved to once again be with her, regardless that it was only by way of weaving. She had not spent so long away from her twin in a thousand years.

"I have traversed the threads of those still strong between us, few as they are. Of those I have sought out, Ffion, Braith, and Neirin, have pledged their aid and that of their court and kin. They now await our word." Bronwen squeezed her sister's hand before dropping it and sitting herself on an ornate stone bench. It had been some time since she had traveled by thread, and found herself worn to the bone.

"Good, Neirin's power almost matches our cousin's, not to mention the number of his court. But what of Idwal, shall he pose an opposition?" Rhonwen plucked a small rose like flower from a vine trailing over the wall and twirled it slowly in her hands. Liadain's court had been practically decimated during the battle before the banishment, but she knew there were still those of their number that agreed with Liadain's views on mortals.

"Liadain's son has pledged his loyalty to us." Bronwen smiled at her sister, she had been as shocked as Rhonwen when Idwal had approached her. Not to mention fearful of a trap, it had taken most of her time just verifying his honesty.

"This is surprising; he has always shown loyalty to his mother in the past." Idwal might not have approved of his mother's treatment of the mortals, but his connection to her had been strong. Liadain had assured it. Rhonwen wondered what possibly could have caused the threads to fray between them.

"I admit it is suspicious, but I have confirmed the truth of it myself. He consented to a weaving without pause, which I conducted under the watch of Ffion. I even have witness from Neirin's own court.

"Idwal had fallen in love with Rhodri's daughter Morwenna. Liadain disapproved of the match and forbid him from marrying her. He disobeyed and fled with Morwenna and his court.

"In time Morwenna became pregnant, and news of it found its way to Liadain. When Idwal refused to kill his wife and unborn child, Liadain became enraged and when Morwenna went into labor, disguised herself as a handmaiden and murdered her after she gave birth, stealing away her grandson, Idris." Bronwen had known the cruelty of her cousin, and it should not have surprised her, and yet it did. How evil did one have to be to hurt their own son the way Liadain had?

"How long ago was this?"

"Going on two hundred years. Idris has become Liadain's right hand, from what I gathered he does not know she is his grandmother." Bronwen shivered at what her cousin may have done to the boy.

"This could be a problem, if Liadain has raised Idris he will be as corrupt as she. Inform Neirin that Idwal should be watched closely, he could easily be compromised if he should face his son." Rhonwen pitied Idwal, she knew the pain of losing a child to Liadain. But she had the comfort in knowing that her precious ones where no longer in the clutches of her cousin, they no longer suffered at her hand, unlike poor Idris.

"I'm not sure that Idwal has given any thought to that. He is ruthless, but to kill his own son?" Bronwen stood from the bench, taking a couple of steps closer to her sister. She hadn't realized what pain she would cause her in mentioning Idris, what memories she would dredge up.

"As I said, inform Neirin, he should be able to put a few of his number on Idwal in case such a thing should come to be." Rhonwen took in a deep breath and gathered herself. Now was not the time reminisce, not while Liadain was still such a threat.

"And what of Earth, my Sister?" Bronwen took a moment to look her sister over. She had been back to their Mother planet for only a short while, and yet she seemed…altered.

"It has changed much since we left. The humans have advanced greatly. I fear even once the banishment is fully lifted that we no longer have a place there. Magic is a thing of the past, believed only fleetingly by children." It was something their people had never really believed, that they would no longer belong on their planet. No one had anticipated that the mortals, with no natural talent in magic, would advance as far as they had. And yet Rhonwen had seen it with her own eyes, there was no longer a place on Earth for magic. This was something the other races seemed to have understood long ago, as she had not encountered another magical creature since her return.

"I have feared as much for some time now. But I do not speak of the mortals, Sister. What of Odin's son, how fares he with the temptation of our cousin?" Loki was the weight that could tip the balance. For all the numbers she had been able to amass, should Liadain gain control of Loki's powers, Bronwen feared there would be no stopping her.

"He has been very hurt, his mind is all a tangle. I have never seen a mind with so many frayed and knotted threads. I have been slowly repairing them, but more keep appearing." Rhonwen had started to grow frustrated with Loki's mind, worried that she would be unable to repair him enough to save him. In the end she realized all she had needed to do was strengthen the threads between him and Darcy, the girl would do the rest.

"Is he too far gone, will he join Liadain?"

"No, before I came he started a new tapestry. A bond has been created between him and a mortal woman, I have been strengthening it. By time Liadain finds a way past Odin's banishment the threads of their bond will be too thick for her to cut. For her he will fight." At least she hoped that he would. There was always the chance that his pride and overconfidence would cause him to choose the wrong path, believing himself capable of gaining his kingdom and keeping Darcy.

"And what of you, Dear Sister? You seem changed since I last saw you." Bronwen laughed quietly as her twin blushed and turned away. She had not seen her act like that in a long while.

"I have found comfort in the arms of a mortal man. Clint Barton, he is a warrior on Earth, a protector." Rhonwen twirled the flower in her fingers, thinking of the man that still slept beside her as she dreamed. Of the feel of his hands as they caressed every part of her flesh, at the taste of his lips, the heat of his body, the power of his lovemaking.

"I am happy for you Sister, it has been a long time since Gethin died." Bronwen placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, knowing without reading her threads what she was thinking.

"I feel as though I am betraying him and our children." A single tear slid down her cheek and dropped onto the flower.

"Don't, Sister, please. Gethin and the girls would want you to find love again, to be happy. They loved you very much." Bronwen pulled her twin to her, wrapping her in her arms before pulling back to give her a comforting smile.

"When should we expect you?" After dropping the flower, Rhonwen quickly wiped away her tears.

"Perchance a day or two more." Bronwen watched her sister pull herself together, she had always been the strongest of the two of them. She didn't know if she would have been able to show mercy as Rhonwen had, not after everything Liadain had done to her.

"Until then, my Sister."

"Until then."

* * *

 

Rhonwen woke as soon as she said goodbye to her sister, her eyes opening to find Clint watching her.

"You were making sounds in your sleep, are you alright?" Clint reached out a hand, his fingers wiping off a few solitary tears on her cheeks.

"Nothing is wrong, Clint. Bronwen has just contacted me. She has found many influential allies and will be here shortly." Rhonwen stood up then, waving her hand in a complicated manner as her clothing appeared on her body.

"Where are you going? You didn't mean now did you?" Surely her sister would wait at least until morning?

Rhonwen turned back around, giving a small smile at the vision before her. Clint was completely nude, covered only at the waist with a thin white sheet. Gethin had been very different in appearance. He had been tall and thin like Loki, his hair like flame. Before his death he had been considered the picture of masculinity among the Weavers. Oh, how she missed him and her daughters. But Bronwen was right, they wouldn't want her wasting her life away sad and alone. It comforted her at least to know that Gethin would have liked Clint, though different in looks they both were warriors.

"She will be a day or two, but I must prepare. Loki and I have much to do before Bronwen gets here." Only the knowledge of what was to come kept Rhonwen from returning to the warmth of Clint's arms. It had been over a thousand years since she had felt the touch and passion of a man, she felt now that her body didn't want to go without anymore.

"What do you mean?" Clint sat fully up, his sheet falling to his lap.

"Loki is going to need all the help that he can get, for my cousin is very strong." Rhonwen ignored the way the muscles in his legs contracted as he stood, or the fact that he was now walking towards her completely nude.

"Wenny, what are you planning?" Clint placed his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs slowly rubbing firm circles along her collarbone. He couldn't deny he was hoping to entice her, though he pretty much knew it was a hopeless cause. Still, it had become a bit of a game between them, each of them working to seduce the other when they were busy. So far Rhonwen was winning, though that really wasn't surprising.

"You will know soon enough, my Love." She leaned in and placed a single kiss on the corner of his lips before turning and leaving the roof.

"I'm really beginning to hate this mysterious crap. I understand why Tony keeps getting mad at Fury."

* * *

 

Rhonwen found Loki where he was anymore since she wove him that first dream, sitting at the edge of his bed and watching Darcy. He looked up as she came into the lab; he looked so tired, large purple circles under his eyes, his mouth drawn into a perpetual frown. She would have to weave a few happy and calm dreams for him so he could sleep. He would need all his energy to deal with Liadain.

"Come to send her another dream?" Loki sneered at the Weaver. She might have never been in the room when Darcy had a nightmare, but he had no doubt she had been the cause of them.

"No, I've come to inform you that the time grows near. Bronwen has rallied the allies we needed and will be here shortly. You must prepare, come with me…..do not worry, she sleeps soundly and without nightmares. She will be safe." Rhonwen did not wait for Loki to acknowledge her, instead she slipped out the back of the building and out to the desert.

Loki looked down at Darcy, his hand reaching down to run a finger from the corner of her eye, down to trace her lips before following Rhonwen. They were several yards away before they stopped, far enough from the lab that no one would hear them, but close enough that they could be seen.

"You understand the risks involved with what you will be doing?" She doubted he truly understood, but knew that before the day was out he would. Of course she also knew he would misunderstand her meaning. She didn't correct him.

"I'm not dense, thank you. I understand perfectly what can happen. You have done your lessons well, Dream Weaver." Loki spat out the title with as much venom as he could. He held no affection for the Weaver or her kind.

"It was never my intention to cause you pain, Loki, but what I did had to be done. Not just for your own survival, but that of all the realms. As well as Darcy's." He might not have cared about the nine realms, but she knew he did the mortal.

"Fine, now why have you brought me out here?" Loki hated the fact that the Weaver knew how to manipulate him, what to dangle in front of his face so he would comply with whatever she wished. If he had his way he would kill her for it. Once all was said and done he would make her pay for what she put Darcy through and for the simple fact that she knew his weakness.

"For practice. I have been gentle with you when I have done my weaving, Liadain will not. She is crude on purpose; she loves the pain that it causes her victims." It was proof of Liadain's desire to own Loki that she had been so gentle with him thus far. Not that Rhonwen believed it would continue that way. Eventually she would grow weary of it and Loki would truly see Liadain for what she was.

"You plan to inflict this pain on me?" Had the woman not done enough? Would she run him through herself just to test his resilience?

"It would help if you knew how it felt and how to overcome it. It is possible to control the weaving, if you know what she is doing. Now, shall we proceed?" Rhonwen sighed when Loki gave a rather sarcastic bow.

"After you."

* * *

 

Darcy woke ten minutes after Loki left, the dream she had the night before had been wonderful. She had been walking through the prettiest garden she had ever seen with Loki at her side. They had stopped by a spring where Loki had reached out to brush a bit of her hair behind her ear. They had sat down on the bank, Loki braiding her hair, dotting it with the sweet smelling flowers that had grown there.

She opened her eyes, a bright smile on her face. It had been a nice dream. She turned her head expecting to find Loki standing at the windowed wall. Since that first morning, she had begun to wake up as the sun rose just so her and Loki could watch it together. It was the one time of day that she looked forward to the most, that was a time when Loki was hers and only hers.

She frowned when she realized he wasn't at the window, and stood up. It took her a few minutes to fully awaken, but eventually she headed for the back of the building, knowing he sometimes went out there to think as she did. But when she looked out it was to see Loki standing several yards away with Rhonwen in his arms.

Darcy felt a tear drop and turned to go back inside the lab. So much for stupid sunrises.

* * *

 

Loki sneered at the woman before him, she had said they would start off slow, to ease him into the pain. She said she feared he would pass out if she started in full force. Loki had thought she was making a bigger deal out of it than it was. Surely he could handle a bit pain, mostly after everything he had endured in his long life. He hadn't been prepared for the reality of it.

Rhonwen had stepped up to him, holding her hands on his face, claiming that as she wasn't used to using her powers in such a way, it would help her focus. At first he had just felt a prickle at his temples, like the beginning of a headache. The prickle grew to a dull throbbing that quickly became a stabbing.

It felt like someone was trying to dig their way into his skull through his temples. The pain grew and grew, until he could no longer see. And then, just like that, the pain was gone. Rhonwen stood back, her face drawn as she looked at him.

"What the hell was that?" He blinked his eyes, trying to will away the phantom pain still pulsing through his head.

"That is only a sample of what a crude weaving can do." Rhonwen felt ill as she watched a bead of sweat trickle down the side of Loki's face. She had spent years refining her craft, learning how to weave painlessly. She didn't have the constitution to create pain through her powers, not without leaving her sick.

"How much worse will it be with Liadain?" Loki felt a moment of panic as Rhonwen turned away to look out over the desert. He had seen both fear and sadness in her eyes at his question.

"It will be some of the worst pain you will ever feel. I know, for I have once been on the receiving end of that pain." Rhonwen grew quiet, her mind a thousand years away. She took a moment to calm herself before turning back around.

"We should try again; it will not be long before Liadain finds you. You must be ready."

Loki nodded his head, standing straight as Rhonwen cupped his face once again. The pain came quicker than before, quickly growing beyond what it had been. Through the haze of pain he could hear as Rhonwen instructed him what to do.

"Try to think past the pain, to the point where it starts. That is where the beginning of the thread is. You need to grab a hold of it, follow it as it moves through your mind."

Loki concentrated on finding the start of the pain, finding it not in the temples as he had originally thought, but right in the middle of his forehead. He followed Rhonwen's instructions, grasping a hold of the thread as soon as he had been able to make it out.

"Good, now follow that thread through your mind. You will be able to see where it starts to weave with the other threads. When they start to weave, guide the thread away, between the threads so that way nothing can attach."

He lost the thread a couple of times, but was able to pick it back up. After what felt like hours, he was finally able to guide the thread between the others, dodging knots and tangles.

"Alright, now there is one other thing you need to learn. I want you to backtrack, slide along the thread until you return towards the entry point. Good, now follow the thread out from that point and back to me. Be careful with it, I should not be able to feel you."

Loki moved slowly, gliding back along that thread, back between the other threads to the center of his forehead. With the greatest care he moved out, beyond his mind and followed the thread out and into Rhonwen's. He was astonished at what he found; there were so many threads, so many colors. But more than that, there were so many finished tapestries.

He followed the thread, walking through Rhonwen's mind, gazing at all the tapestries of her life. He stopped when he came to one. It was large, but unlike the others it was battered and torn. There were holes torn straight through the entire piece. He reached out to feel it and suddenly found himself back in the real world and on the ground with a tear faced Rhonwen standing above him.

"I'm sorry….well, you did very well. I suspect that your regular use of magic has made you sensitive, and thus made it possible for you to catch on so quickly." Rhonwen wiped at her face, trying to dry the tears as quickly as possible. She had never expected Loki to catch on so quickly, to be able to not only enter her mind but have the ability to browse through her tapestries.

"What was that, the tapestry that I saw, the one that was damaged?" Loki picked himself off the ground, uncaring that he was covered in dirt. She had told him from the beginning about threads and tapestries, but he had not realized that when weaving it would be so literal. He was curious about what he saw, not just the weaving, but what the meaning of a torn tapestry was.

"That is not for you to know." Rhonwen cursed herself a thousand fools, she should have waited until Bronwen returned to guide the weaving. She would have been able to protect Rhonwen's tapestries from Loki.

"Oh, come now, you have been playing around in my mind since you got here; I believe it is about time for, what is it the mortals say, a bit of tit for tat." Loki watched fascinated as the normally unflappable woman clenched her hands into fists, her eyes blazing with anger and pain.

"Fine, you wish to know, then fine. I have seen many of your damaged tapestries. I've seen of your birth father, of Odin, your friendships, your brother. I suppose you do deserve a bit of recompense for what you unwillingly gave." Rhonwen's voice was husky, filled with tears and her anger. She knew Loki wouldn't let it go, what matter was it to him that she still grieved?

"That was of my husband and daughters. I told you that I endured pain at my cousin's hand, well this is why. Liadain lusted after my husband, Gethin. She had pursued him, but he chose me in the end. Things were fine for many years, it seemed as though Liadain had forgotten about him. That wasn't the case, she was waiting in order to inflect the most damage, cause the most pain.

"Gethin and I had been together for many years, I had given birth to a set of twin girls by him. We were happy. Then one day Liadain showed up while my girls had been down by the river. There were small water nymphs that lived there and my girls loved watching them swim about.

"Liadain took them away, leaving a trail behind for Gethin and me to follow. It took us many hours, but we finally found them. She had bound and gagged them, waiting for us to find her." Rhonwen shook as she remembered that day, remembered the fear, the pain.

"She killed them?" Loki bit down on his anger at her bringing up his father, Odin and Thor, knowing he would get nothing out of her should he show his fury.

"No, she hadn't yet crossed fully over the point of insanity then. She planned on using them as a bargaining chip. She would release them if Gethin left me and joined her. Gethin and I had been very close, our threads so intertwined that our minds were always connected. We had a plan, a way to trick Liadain into releasing our daughters. The problem was that the twins were still so young, very unstable. In their fright they tried to connect with Gethin and me, only to tangle their threads beyond repair.

"They died instantly, taking their father with them. In anger Liadain lashed out at me, tore through my mind with the intention of killing me. I only survived because the backlash from Gethin and the girls had caused her to collapse before she had been able to kill me." The backlash she had purposely directed through her threads and to Liadain.

"She caused the death of your husband and children, and yet you allowed her to live, twice?" Loki couldn't understand it, how had she not torn through the woman's mind until nothing was left?

"It is not that simple. I could have killed her then, and maybe others would have, but I saw something in her that day. She had truly loved Gethin. I believe that his death was what sent her over the edge." She didn't tell him how she regretted not killing her that day; that she had thought on destroying her many times over.

Loki looked at Rhonwen closer then, besides Thor he had never met anyone so forgiving. Had someone been the cause of Darcy's death he wouldn't have hesitated to kill them. Loki straightened himself out, the Weaver's story unnerving him for some reason.

"Alright, I think we best continue, don't you?" Rhonwen gave him a grateful smile and nodded, coming to stand in front of him again and cup his face.

"Yes. Now, I'm going to increase the pain. You need to do just as you had before, but just enter my mind and stay there; you have no need to look around. Let's begin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gethin: Welsh, means Dark-skinned and swarthy, but the meaning really doesn't apply to the character, for looks think Benedict Cumberbatch…which happened totally by accident, but works.  
> Ffion: Feminine, Welsh, means Foxglove.
> 
> Braith: Unisex, though feminine for this story, Welsh, means Speckled.
> 
> Neirin: Masculine, Welsh, older form of Aneirin, possibly meaning noble.
> 
> Idwal: Welsh, meaning Lord of the Wall.
> 
> Rhodri: Masculine, Welsh, derived from the elements meaning Wheel and King.
> 
> Morwenna: Welsh, means Maiden in Cornish.
> 
> Idris: Welsh, meaning Ardent Lord


	12. Bronwen

Two days later and Loki was about ready to kill someone. He had spent every free minute of his days with Rhonwen out in the desert practicing. Though he hated to admit it, he now understood why everyone warned him away from Liadain. The amount of pain Rhonwen had inflicted him with had been enough to send him to his knees, he had even blacked out once. And according to Rhonwen, Liadain was more powerful than her. He shuttered to think of the pain she could cause.

He walked into the lab after another session with Rhonwen, his head aching, to find Darcy pacing the length of the room. She had been acting strange the past couple of days, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. She had always been nice to him, treating him no different than Thor, something he reluctantly admitted to being grateful for. Lately though she had been giving him what the mortals called, the cold shoulder. To be fair, she wasn't actually rude to him, but she was cool, greeting him in passing but never actually stopping to talk to him. It bothered him more than he thought it should have.

"Darcy, what may I ask are you doing?" Loki held in the laugh that threatened to bubble out of his chest as his voice had so obviously startled the woman. It annoyed him, but he couldn't help that the little squeak that had come out of her had been… dare he say it… cute.

"I'm pacing, what does it look like I'm doing?" Darcy regretted her tone the moment she spoke. It was not his fault that she had been acting like a smitten school girl, or that she had her heart broken when the boy she liked turned out to like another.

"Yes, that is obvious, but why are you pacing?" Loki gritted his teeth, her current attitude towards him was grating on his nerves.

"Another Weaver showed up, about ten minutes ago. But since I'm just a defenseless, weak mortal girl, I haven't been allowed to see her. So, here I am stuck down here for my own safety while everyone, even fucking Jane, is on the roof." Ok, so maybe she was a little sore still about being the unremarkable one. But she dared anyone else to not feel the same around that particular group.

"Though, too, I might be kind of freaking out right now cause even if I did see the woman there is no way I could tell if it was Liadain or not. I'm worse than useless, why am I even here? I make coffee and type down stupid equations that I don't even understand in the computer, if it is Liadain what am I to do? Offer her coffee and tase her ass hoping it would actually do something to her? Which by the way according to Rhonwen, it wouldn't. Stupid, pointy-eared, magic elves!" Right, so she was beyond the point of simply freaking out and was now headed straight towards full on panicking. If someone didn't stop her she would be reduced to unintelligible babbling and hair pulling.

Realizing that full on panic was setting in, Loki grabbed a hold of her shoulders, forcing her to stand still. She looked up at him with wide eyes, her breathing slowly calming as he pressed his thumbs firmly into her collarbones.

"Now, before you start hyperventilating, I need you to listen to me. The Weaver is most likely Rhonwen's sister; she is expected to be here any day. Besides that, I don't want to hear you call yourself worthless again."

"Actually I said worse than worthless."

"Be that as it may, worthless or worse than useless, it doesn't matter. Should I hear such sentiments from your mouth again I will not hesitate to mete out punishment." Gently, Loki pressed the nail of one thumb into her flesh. Not hard enough to break skin, the pressure just enough to leave a mark. Slowly he dragged his nail across her skin, his breathing coming harsher as he watched Darcy's pupils dilate.

Darcy's tongue felt too thick and she couldn't swallow, couldn't really do anything with Loki holding her the way he was. She was about to retort when the back door opened again, this time to reveal Rhonwen.

Realizing she was in Loki's arms, she jumped away from him like she had been burned. She wrapped her arms around her chest, trying to forget the feel of his hands. Hopefully the Weaver wouldn't read too much into it, not that she actually knew what had been going on herself. What the fuck had he meant by punishment?

Loki looked rather funny at Darcy, at the almost guilty expression that crossed her face, but ignored it. If Bronwen had finally come, then there were more important things to worry about than the strange behavior of a mortal woman.

"Ah, Rhonwen, Darcy has just been telling me that another Weaver has joined us." Loki watched Darcy out of the corner of his eye. She had removed her arms from around her chest and it looked like she had finally composed herself.

"Yes, Bronwen has finally returned. Come, both of you, I shall introduce you." Rhonwen was smiling as she led them up to the roof. Though she couldn't help but sigh as she opened the door to find Clint and Thor standing at attention before her sister. It was rather obvious they were twins, but Rhonwen knew warriors always suspected foul play.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't harass my sister, Clint." Though scolding, her voice was light, as though she were trying to hold back a laugh.

Clint and Thor both stood back, looking sheepish, as Rhonwen walked forward and embraced her sister.

"All, I would like you to meet my twin sister, Bronwen of Briarwood." Bronwen nodded her head, but did little else as they each introduced themselves. She was almost an exact copy of Rhonwen. Same nose, same cheekbones, same full lips. The difference between them came by way of coloring. Where Rhonwen's hair was a dark blood red, Bronwen's was a sunny blonde, Rhonwen's eyes were emeralds, Bronwen's the color of the sky. Even their facial marking differed; Rhonwen's matching her eyes, while her sister's were black and white. Even their clothes followed the theme, differing only in color, Rhonwen of course green while Bronwen wore a black dress with the collar around her neck red and black instead of jade.

"Our allies are in position, they just await our instruction." Unlike her sister, Bronwen cared little of pleasantries. Between them Rhonwen had been the social butterfly, while Bronwen preferred her studies.

"So we are ready then?" Clint ran a hand through his hair; it was a bit surreal watching the two sisters. It wasn't so much that they looked alike, because when he was younger he had actually dated a set of identical twins. It was more the fact that while they looked similar, they were extremely different. It was their way of standing, the way that Rhonwen smiled all the way to her eyes while her sister could barely lift the corner of her lips. It was strange to think, that out of the two of them, Rhonwen had been the one with the tragic past.

"We first must wait for our cousin to make her move." Bronwen ran a critical eye over Clint, it was no surprise that her sister had chosen the mortal as a lover. He held himself like a warrior, always alert, always poised for battle.

"If we are ready, why must we wait for Liadain? Why couldn't we make the first move?" Darcy felt even smaller when Bronwen turned her unyielding gaze on her. Though the Weaver looked much like her sister, it was easy to see that Bronwen was much darker. She made Darcy feel uncomfortable; it was a similar feeling to that of waking from a nightmare but being unable to actually remember what it had been about.

"The problem is that we don't know where Liadain is. I have tried to follow the strand from Loki's mind back to Liadain, but it has been too long since he has dreamed. The threads between them have grown thin, making it too hard for me to follow without completely breaking them." It had been a long shot, Rhonwen had known that when she had first tried, Liadain had never met Loki and the length of time she had woven dreams for him had been too short to create thick enough threads.

"What do you mean, 'follow the thread?'" Jane had been excited to learn about the magic of the Weavers when Rhonwen had first shown up, but so far she had been unable to follow anything of what she had said. Nothing seemed rooted in the science she so loved, not like the bifrost she had been working on for SHIELD.

"When Liadain wove dreams for Loki back on Asgard she created a connection between them, a thread that goes from her mind to his. Should Loki still have been having the dreams, I could have latched onto the thread and followed it back to where Liadain is. Sadly, that thread has grown too thin and should I even attempt it, I would snap the thread completely." And though Rhonwen hadn't said it, it went without saying that their plan depended on that thread.

"How is that possible, to follow a thread from someone else's mind to another's?" Jane had known the Weavers could read another's mind, but to jump from mind to mind like that? It was a little scary.

"A person's threads are not just in their mind, the threads are everywhere, connecting people together like a web. Right now I could easily reach in and grab a thread in your mind, follow it as it weaves its way to Thor, and through him to Odin, to Frigga and so on and so forth. Everyone is connected in some way, the problem is finding the right threads that will lead you to who you want, and hoping that those threads are strong and thick enough not break, thus severing any connection." Never before had Rhonwen tried to explain weaving to a mortal, it was strange. She knew that no matter what she said, Jane would always be left with questions. Still, she endeavored to explain the best she could.

Loki caught Rhonwen's eye, knowing that she would skim through his mind at the look he was giving her. Rhonwen just gave a half nod in his direction before turning back to Jane. Ignoring the rest of the conversation, he focused his attention on Darcy. Not caring if he angered Clint at the moment, he reached down and gently ran a single finger through her hair before turning and leaving back down into the lab.

* * *

 

After a while, the two sisters found themselves alone on the roof. Jane and Darcy had left to finish that day's work, Thor following behind them like a puppy. Clint had remained the longest, though took his cue from Rhonwen when she had nodded towards the door.

Once alone, Bronwen turned towards her sister with the first smile since she returned to Earth.

"I approve of your choice in lovers, Sister. Clint Barton is a fine man, I am happy for you." Bronwen knew that Clint was quickly becoming more than just a lover, her sister was seriously thinking on taking him for a mate. Though she would have never chosen a mortal herself, she was pleased that her sister had found love after so many lonely years.

"Thank you." Rhonwen went to look out over the desert as she did every day. Their time on Earth was growing short. Before long they would be forced to once again leave, Rhonwen found herself distressed by this much more than she had the first time.

"Sister, what are we to do about Liadain? All the amassed allies in the universe will be of little help if we can not find her." Bronwen went to stand beside her sister, the vast desert before her. She had to admit Rhonwen had been right, Earth no longer bristled with magic energy. All of their kind had long fled; there was no place for them any longer.

"We have gained Loki as an ally; I believe he finally understands what it is that he must do." Rhonwen looked at her sister, allowing her time to read the newest threads that had formed.

"It is a fine plan, but it could so easily fail. He could die or fully succumb to her." She agreed that Rhonwen's plan would work, was in fact the best hope for defeating their cousin, but Loki was a wild card. Should he, in the end, betray them all would be lost.

"He may very well die, but I no longer believe he will give into Liadain. He is strong, and has learned a great deal since I've worked with him. He will survive long enough to play his part. After that….let us hope that his connection to the mortal is enough." Loki could die, it was a very real possibility, and it did bother her. But she also knew that she would do anything to stop her cousin, and if that meant the death of Loki or any of the others, then so be it.

"Is he ready you think?" Bronwen could see the stress everything was causing her sister, she hated to sacrifice a life, but would do so in order to save the nine realms. But maybe there was a way she could ensure that the Asgardian lived.

"He will have to be, time is running out. Liadain will soon find Loki. I can already feel the threads thickening as she searches for him."

* * *

 

Loki was silent the rest of the day, he didn't read, didn't go out into the desert with Rhonwen. He just sat at the table, watching Darcy. She didn't know what to make of it, and so she ignored it.

She finally couldn't take it anymore when it was time to go to bed. She had spent the day snapping at him in her head to take a picture, that it would last longer, but she was still reeling from the unnerving feeling Rhonwen's sister had given her. Not to mention Loki's strange behavior earlier. She could still feel his touch on her collarbone and in her hair.

"Ok, Loki, what is your deal? Why have you been staring at me? Do I have something on my face, or what?" She had expected some snarky remark; instead he just blinked as though he hadn't been aware he had been staring.

"Are you still having nightmares?" Loki watched as Darcy blushed, the enticing color creeping up her chest and over her cheeks. He wondered what he had said that would have caused such a reaction.

"No, I've been sleeping pretty good lately." She knew she was blushing, and she damned her pale skin. But she couldn't help flushing at Loki's words. No she hadn't had any nightmares, but her sleep had been filled with dreams about the two of them. Some sweet, like the dream that morning, others heated. It was the memory of those, dreams where her and Loki had been tangled up, their nude bodies twisting underneath bed sheets, that made her cheeks pink.

Loki nodded and laid himself down on his cot, closing his eyes without a word. Darcy watched him for a moment confused, but soon gave it up and laid down herself. It had been a strange day.

* * *

 

Liadain's lips stretched from ear to ear as she finally found the thread she had been searching for. Grabbing a hold of it, she followed until she found herself once again in Loki's mind.

She growled as she gazed upon the new tapestries. It looked as though her cousins had been busy, but their interference was not what angered her. It was the tapestry that was, even then, still weaving. It looked as though her prince had found himself a mortal girl. Oh that wouldn't do at all.

Liadain turned away from the tapestry and began to weave, her and her prince needed to have a little talk.

* * *

 

Rhonwen sat up, her eyes wide. Clint shooting up beside her, ready to battle whatever disturbed their sleep.

"What's the matter? I don't see anyone." Clint scanned the roof, but the only other one besides the two of them was Bronwen, who was across the roof awake herself.

"There is no one here. Liadain has finally found Loki, I can feel her weaving for him." The threads were red hot in her anger. Rhonwen had no doubt that Liadain knew not only of them, but of Darcy as well.

"What are we going to do?" Ok, maybe it was 'they' and not 'we,' but Clint was used to working as a team since the Avengers. It was hard realizing he couldn't help.

"For now, nothing." Rhonwen winced as she felt Liadain finally make contact with Loki, she was beyond angry.

"This was part of your plan all along, wasn't it?" It shouldn't have surprised him, the best way to catch something was with bait.

"We need the threads between Liadain and Loki to thicken. This can only be achieved by contact between the two of them." Rhonwen reached out a hand and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Go back to sleep, it is not yet time to strike. I must go now and talk with Bronwen." She ruffled his hair, and after placing a kiss on his cheek got up and dressed.

Reluctantly Clint lied back down, he wanted to be able to help, but knew that in that matter he was worse than useless. He watched as Rhonwen joined her sister on the other side of the roof. His poor Wenny had been through so much, he feared what killing her cousin would end up doing to her.

* * *

 

Loki blinked a couple of times as a familiar room came into focus. For a moment Loki swore retribution on Rhonwen, sure that she had sent him another dream. It was the taste of the dream though that stopped him short. Liadain had finally found him.

He turned as a hand landed on his shoulder, and sneered at the woman before him. She had seemed more beautiful back before he had been sent to Midgard. With her floor length white hair and slate gray eyes she had reminded him of snow. Now that he knew who and what she was, he could make out the markings on her face that she had obviously hid from him. They were white and silver, giving her the appearance of ice more than snow.

"You see me now with no glamours. Do I scare you?" Liadain stepped back, raising her arms for his inspection.

"A bit of sparkle on your face is far from frightening. You forget who you are talking to." Loki looked Liadain up and down, wondering how he could have ever found her to be arousing. She really was like ice, cold and hard.

"Ah yes, but you rarely wear your Jotunn form. Pity actually, you are very impressive." Liadain flipped her hair behind her shoulder, her own eyes staring lustfully at Loki.

"Enough of this, why have you come Liadain?" Loki rolled his eyes as she began to circle him. Did she really think to intimidate him?

"Because you have been a very bad boy." She slid a hand along Loki's shoulders as she walked around him, smiling at the hard muscle she found beneath his loose fitting tunic.

"I have never denied this. Do try again." Really, it was like saying Thor was spoiled or that the grass was green.

"You think to joke, fine, but you might not be in such a gaming mood when I take that little mortal whore and disembowel her with your own knives." Liadain stopped circling, coming to a stop before him. Her face contorted as she spit out her words.

"You will not touch Darcy!" Loki tried to lunge for her, but found himself rooted to the spot.

"Oh, and you plan to stop me? I own you; you are mine and mine alone! Prepare yourself, Prince, I will be coming."

* * *

 

Loki shot up out of bed, his breathing once again harsh as he tried to catch his breath. He looked over towards Darcy, a sharp pain shooting through his chest and stomach. Liadain knew about her now, and Rhonwen was right. Because of him Darcy was in grave danger.


	13. No Regrets

Just before breakfast the next morning, the quiet of the lab was disturbed as Thor came barreling in with Jane on his heels. Loki had forgone his training with Rhonwen that morning so he could watch the sunrise with Darcy, and the two were silently sitting at the table with cups of coffee and tea in hand. At least until Thor's entrance caused the couple to jolt from their chairs in surprise, well only Darcy actually jumped up, Loki only rolled his eyes at his brother's antics.

"Brother! My powers have returned!" Thor looked frantic; his hammer in hand as he looked around the lab as though danger lurked in every corner.

"I know, as are mine." Loki ignored the shocked look on his brother's face, focusing his attention on his cup of tea instead, a substance only slightly more palatable than coffee.

"I do not understand, they were only supposed to return if our lives were in danger. How can this be?" Thor twirled his hammer in his hand before setting it on the table. When he had awoken that morning he had been able to tell immediately that something was different. He could feel his powers flowing through his body. He had been skeptical though, until he had seen the glint of silver out of the corner of his eye. It was then he had woken Jane and rushed to the lab in order to ascertain the danger. Only, there seemed to be nothing.

"I suspect that as Liadain visited my dreams last night, the spell that bound our powers has broken." Setting down his tea, Loki was shocked as Darcy dropped her coffee on the table. He watched as she ran a shaky hand through her hair, the corner of her eyes filling with tears.

"What?! Loki, Why didn't you say anything?!" Darcy felt the calm of the morning slipping away as she stood there. The morning had started out so wonderfully, Loki had forgone his usual stroll in the desert with Rhonwen, instead when she woke it was to find him waiting for her at the windowed wall. She had spent some time curled in his arms as they watched the sun rise, at the time it seemed surreal, now she wondered if she hadn't been right.

"Calm yourself, Darcy. I said nothing, because there is nothing to say. We all knew she would eventually find me, it shouldn't surprise anyone." His voice was cool, calm and collected, a direct contrast to what he was feeling beneath it all.

On Asgard he had welcomed the dreams, if simply for the relief it gave from the monotony of it all. They had also been alluring, the thought of being in reach of the power he craved, the throne he longed for. He still longed for that power, for a kingdom of his own, he knew he always would. Only now the dreams and Liadain, offered no comfort. What was power or a kingdom if Darcy was dead? He was reminded of something his mother once told him; a body could live without a limb, but never without its heart.

"Yeah, but why now, how….." Darcy was at a loss for words. She wasn't stupid by any means, she had known Liadain would eventually find him. Still the reality of it made Darcy's heart all but stop.

"I suppose it is most likely because of the arrival of Bronwen. From what I have gathered, the greater the concentration of people one has a connection to, the easier it is to traverse the threads." He might not have been born a user of the Weaver magic, but his own magic made it easy enough to utilize theirs. It was enough for him to understand how Liadain might have found him.

"You are correct. Though we have not seen one another in many years, the fact that we are blood family keeps the threads thick enough that they will remain until death. To try and sever a connection as old as ours would result in the death of one or more of us." Unnoticed, the twins had entered the room, Clint in full Hawkeye mode behind them.

"With the connection linking Loki, Bronwen and myself, Liadain was able to locate, and thus weave a dream for Loki." Rhonwen watched as Darcy tried to hold back her tears, she felt guilt at her hand in the woman's grief, but she didn't regret it. She couldn't, not when it was key in saving the universe.

Ignoring everyone else in the room, Loki stood from the table and took measured steps towards the Weavers. He stopped only three feet from Rhonwen, his face an emotionless mask despite the anxiety stirring beneath.

"You were right." He spoke nothing else, for he knew that she would understand.

Everyone looked between the two with confusion as Rhonwen nodded. The Weavers, and even Loki, had a tendency to be rather cryptic, but this was a little ridiculous.

"You can not understand just how much I wish I had been wrong. Know that I do not take delight in this. She is in grave danger now, Liadain will stop at nothing to rid herself of competition." Her cousin had little tolerance for competition before she had reached the point of no return, Rhonwen knew she had absolutely none now.

"What the fuck are you two talking about? Who is in danger?" Darcy ran a hand through her hair, she was so fucking tired of being kept out of the loop.

"You." Rhonwen turned toward Darcy, her eyes sad.

"What the fuck do you mean me? Why the hell would your crazy cousin want to hurt me? How am I competition?" As far as Darcy knew, she had never had designs on taking over the universe. Ok, so maybe when she was ten she had some outlandish fantasy about becoming Queen of the Universe and making it law that everyone had to eat desert for every meal, but that was neither here nor there.

"You really don't know? Loki loves you; his connection to you could hinder her plans. In order to gain his powers, she needs him to be completely loyal to her. This is something that can not happen as long as his heart belongs to you. It is illogical, but she believes the only way to remedy this would be to kill you." Rhonwen ignored Loki as he growled at her. She had never met two people that could be blinder then the god and mortal before her. Even had she not meddled, it should have been obvious. Had the situation before them not been so serious, Rhonwen figured she would have laughed at the absurdity of it all.

"But…but…what? I thought you two were together?" Darcy looked back and forth between Loki and the Weaver. She had been wrong, it wasn't just that morning that had been surreal.

Unable to really help herself, Rhonwen laughed quietly as she backed herself up against Clint's chest, his arms curling around to hold her securely against him.

"Oh dear me, no. We would kill each other within days. No, Loki loves you and I have given my heart to Clint." She smiled as Clint's arms closed over her just a bit tighter. Neither of them had yet to actually say that they loved each other, and though it may have been too early, Rhonwen knew the threads were there, it was just a matter of time.

Loki's head was spinning, had he really misread the situation so much? He had been sure that Clint had been harboring feelings for Darcy, and she him, had he really been that wrong?

"You are not with him?" Loki spoke to Darcy as he pointed to Clint, causing her to pull a rather funny face.

"Oh God, no! No offence Clint, but you're just not my type. Attractive, yes, but seriously your pants are way too tight dude." Darcy cringed, she didn't mean to offend, but after knowing Loki she couldn't see herself with any other. Mostly after the latest revelation.

"Well, this changes things." Loki chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. It changed a great many things. For the first time he had hope that there might be something that was truly his.

"Yeah, kind of does. So, you love me?" Darcy raised a brow at him, there wasn't much she could say.

"This is not how I planned on telling you, not that I actually planned on it, as I believed you to be with bird-boy." Before Loki could speak any further, he found Darcy's hand clasped against his mouth, effectively shutting him up.

"Oh for fucks sake Loki, I love you too." Darcy couldn't help but laugh, this wasn't how she ever thought she would reveal her feelings for him. She had dreamed of moonlit walks, horseback rides, and all manner of cliché romantic moments where Loki would pull her to him and confess his undying love for her. Then again, she figured that really wasn't his style, not for when he truly meant it.

Loki gazed down at the woman before him, his hope turning to reality. He had her heart as surely as she had his, it was a strange feeling to finally have something to live for. He reached up, slipping his fingers under hers at his mouth, pulling her hand away just enough so he could look at it.

He gave her a small smile before placing a soft kiss on her palm and setting her hand on his chest. Darcy curled her fingers in the material of his shirt, her heart hammering in time with his. For a time they just looked at each other, neither moving nor willing to break the silence.

Sadly the moment was broken as Jane gathered herself from the stupor their revelation induced.

"Well, now that we have that figured out, I would like to know something. Your cousin is after Darcy, so what do you plan on doing to protect her?" If her voice was rather harsh, no one could blame her. Darcy was not just her assistant, she was her friend, and it angered her that she was in danger because of Loki and the Weavers.

"We have already made a promise to protect her, we will not back out of that." Bronwen's voice was cold, a great contrast to the warm tones of her sister.

"But how? I want to know…" Jane trailed off as Thor placed a hand on her shoulder. She wanted to yell at the Weavers, ask them for their plan in great detail, but she knew the gentle squeeze of his hand was a warning.

"Mother's black roses…." Thor's distant gaze landed on Loki, his eyes boring straight into his brother's. He wasn't sure how he had remembered, the event had been when he had been very young, but looking back on it now he knew that somehow it was all connected. Thor continued before anyone could question his apparent random outburst.

"Mother has a necklace in her possession, three black roses connected by chains of pearls and emerald stones. She keeps it in a box of crystal in her chambers." He could still remember the elegant piece and how his mother had spoken so fondly of it.

"Alright, but I really don't see how a necklace can help protect me from crazy elves hell bent on ruling the universe." Darcy looked to Thor as though he had gone insane. Unless Liadain had some sort of fear of jewelry she didn't see where he was going with the whole necklace thing.

"There are things in this world, Darcy, that you have yet to understand. Not everything is as it seems. Mother said the necklace had been a gift, a shield against nightmares. Considering everything that has come to light, I doubt her owning such a piece is a coincidence." Thor turned his eyes from Darcy to the two Weavers. The look that passed over their faces was enough to confirm his suspicions.

"The amulet was indeed a gift from Bronwen and myself. Upon the Banishment of Liadain and our race we feared retaliation against Asgard. It would have been only logical that she would target Frigga, both because of her own powers as well as her connection to Odin." Rhonwen had been right in her fears, it had only been a year after the Banishment that word arrived that Liadain had tried to use Frigga to get to Odin, only to find herself blocked.

"Would the amulet work for Darcy?" Loki began to formulate a plan before the Weavers even answered him. If he could get his hands on that necklace he would be able to protect Darcy no matter what happened to him.

"Of course. Within the stones my sister and I have woven tapestries, a labyrinth of tapestries that act as a shield. As long as one is wearing it no Weaver can enter their mind, let alone find them." Rhonwen would have offered to create one for Darcy, sadly to craft such an amulet took a great deal of energy and time, both of which they did not have at present.

Loki turned to Thor, he had no need to speak a single word, his brother already knew just what was on his mind. And it was something that Thor did not blame him for, nor would he begrudge him.

"Go, Brother, I shall remain here and guard Darcy for you." Thor watched as for the first time in too long Loki looked to him with gratefulness. Loki nodded and without a word simply vanished into thin air.

"Where the fuck did he just go?" Hawkeye frowned at where Loki had just been. He really didn't like the fact that he had his powers back again. He didn't care what Rhonwen and Darcy said, he didn't believe for one minute that Loki wouldn't betray them all.

"He has returned to Asgard in order to retrieve the necklace. Loki knows of other pathways besides the Bifrost that allow him to move from realm to realm." He knew that Clint and Jane didn't believe in his brother, and before everything with Liadain started he would have grudgingly agreed with them. Things had changed though. Oh, he didn't believe that Loki had changed his ways fully, that he had become an agent of good, but he had seen something in his eyes when his brother looked at Darcy that made him believe that no matter what he would do in the future, he wouldn't betray them as long as the mortal was in danger.

"Well fuck me, this is like some sort of convoluted Disney movie! I'm the fucking damsel in distress that some evil witch wants to kill. Never thought I would be that girl." Darcy huffed and crossed her arms. She wasn't that damn girl, the one that needed saving, she was the one that did the fucking saving, thank you very much.

Jane couldn't help it and laughed, she slapped a hand on her mouth and looked at Darcy with a red face.

"Sorry, but hey you got a prince at least." Jane gave her a shrug of the shoulder and winced at Darcy's blank face.

"Oh whoopee! With my luck the evil witch will get her nasty little claws in my prince before I even get to fuck him. Gah, fuck my life!" Darcy threw up her hands and walked out the back of the lab. She didn't want anyone to see her as she freaked out. The man she loved, loved her back. But damn it all to hell, a crazy woman wanted her dead and to turn Loki into a mindless puppet. Oh, she was totally freaking out.

* * *

 

Loki ignored everyone as he pushed past guards, Sif and the Warriors Three, he had no time to deal with any of their antics. He could faintly hear yelling for him to stop, but he pushed on until he barged his way into Odin and his mother's chambers. Only once he saw his mother reclining in her favorite reading spot did he stop.

"How did you get here?" Odin shot up from his place at his desk, his face pinched in anger as he looked at his wayward son. He had been sure his enchantments would hold until the whole Liadain ordeal had been dealt with.

"Liadain has finally found me. I would guess that such a thing constituted enough of a danger for your enchantment to break." Loki barely glanced at the man he had once called father, instead he turned his gaze upon his mother.

Frigga was truly a sight for sore eyes, and it surprised him how much seeing her calmed the turmoil inside of him. His mother stood from her perch, the book she had been reading placed upon a dozen pillows. Her golden hair toppled down her shoulders like sunlight, framing not only her face, but also the necklace she had draped around her neck. The necklace Loki knew he had come for.

"You have not succumbed to her?" Frigga wanted to cry when she saw her son, her dear son, standing before her. He was breathing heavily, his eyes wild and yet at the most calm she had ever seen them.

"No, Mother, I have not aligned myself with Liadain, nor shall I." Loki knew that his words were only a partial truth, but his mother had no need to know the whole truth at that time.

Uncaring about what her husband or son would think, Frigga ran across the room and flung her arms around Loki's neck. She held on tightly, her face buried in against his shoulder.

"My son." She slipped her hands up into his hair, her fingers clutching to him, hoping to keep him there with her forever.

"Mother, I don't have much time. Liadain has yet to be defeated, and there is a matter I wish to discuss with you. A favor to ask, though I am unworthy in the eyes of all of Asgard to ask for such a thing." Loki carefully extracted his mother's hands from his hair, and set her back a few steps from him.

"Whatever it is, my son, I shall grant it." Frigga ran a hand down the side of his face, a small smile stretching her lips.

"The amulet, the necklace you wear, I have need of it." Loki watched as a look of shock passed over his mother's face. Though it was gone just as quickly. She nodded and without question reached back to unhook the necklace.

"Frigga, stop! The amulet is not for him." Odin had rushed to his wife's side, his hand placed at the base of her neck in order to keep her from removing the necklace.

"The amulet is not for him, I think. Am I right, my son?" Frigga used one hand to pry her husband's fingers from her neck as she used the other to slip the necklace off.

"Mother…."

"Answer me, Loki. It is not for you, who is it that you wish to protect?" Completely ignoring her husband, she reached out and took one of Loki's hands.

"There is…one…a mortal woman…that I wish to hide from Liadain's eyes. She has seen her within my dreams and has plans to destroy her. The Weavers have assured me that the amulet will protect her from their cousin…..Please Mother." Loki's stomach clenched as he spoke, he would not say the words, but his actions spoke loud and clear of his feelings for Darcy.

"Then, my dear son, you must protect her." Frigga smiled brightly as she placed the necklace in the hand of his she had been holding. She closed his fingers around the roses and stones and raised his hand to her lips.

"Place this on her, as long as she wears it she will be undetectable to Liadain." She let go of his hand and stood back, pulling Odin along with her. She watched with a weary, but happy heart as her beloved son vanished back to Midgard.

"Why did you give him the amulet? It had been meant for you." Odin allowed a bit of fear to enter his voice. Without the necklace Liadain would be able to easily find Frigga.

"Because, our son has finally found something to fight for. I believe should he loose this, he would truly be lost."

* * *

 

By the time that Loki returned, everyone had retired to their own beds. Well, Jane and Thor had, as well as Rhonwen and Clint, while Bronwen had simply expressed the need for a walk. Darcy envied the two couples, being able to hold, touch and kiss each other. All the while she remained in the lab alone, praying that Liadain never took Loki.

Loki found Darcy out behind the lab, gazing up towards the stars. He took a moment to watch her, he had never thought he would find a mortal woman beautiful, but to him Darcy out shone every single Asgardian woman he had ever laid eyes on.

"Did things go well with your mother?" Darcy had known the moment Loki had stepped outside, but she had allowed him a moment of silence.

"She has given me the amulet. Come inside Darcy, the longer we wait the more likely it is Liadain will be able to find you." Loki held out a hand and watched as Darcy placed her small hand in his, allowing him to pull her into the lab.

Stopping just inside, Darcy reached up and pressed a kiss to his lips, one that quickly turned passionate. She clung to him, so afraid that one day she would loose him. She guided him to her cot, Loki pulling back just enough to look down at her with a raised brow.

"Loki…I'm not…normally…the thing is Loki, I know we don't have much time. Liadain is coming for you, and I don't want to have any regrets if…well I don't want to have any regrets." She looked pleadingly up at him, begging him to understand what she was saying.

"I shall endeavor to ensure that there will be none. But a cot isn't the ideal place to make love, mostly when it is our first." Not taking his eyes off of Darcy, he waved his hand and smirked as Darcy chuckled. Gone were the two camp cots, in their place was a mountain of pillows and silk and velvet throws.

Loki slipped down into the pile of pillows and pulled Darcy down next to him. He slipped a hand over her shoulder, his fingers brushing back her silken hair. Slowly he leaned in, his lips pressing against her forehead as he slid his hand down to unbutton her shirt.

Darcy closed her eyes, enjoying the slow torture as he carefully removed every stitch of clothing she had. Her eyes didn't open until she kneeled before him with not a stitch of on.

He smiled down at her, a genuine smile, as he lightly traced her collarbone with his fingers. He could feel a shiver move through her body, and it sent one through his own. Slowly he leaned down, pressing his lips to the hot flesh of her shoulder, all the while his hands worked to slide the amulet from the pile of pillows and to her neck.

Darcy shivered as she felt the coolness of the necklace against her thighs, as Loki slid it along her legs, tickling up her stomach, allowing it to catch momentarily around one breast, before he slipped it up her collarbone and clasped it around her neck. She looked up at him with heavy lidded eyes as he pulled back. Her own hands began to work his clothes, she was so desperate for them to be removed. She needed his skin against hers, his breath mingled with her own, she needed no regrets.

Darcy's eyes once again closed as Loki leaned forward, pushing her further into the pillows, his body following her down. Her breath caught, her heart all but stopped as her entire world became the man that was now completely connected to her in every way.

She swore as Loki pulled her along the tides that she would never allow Liadain to get her hands on him. Loki was hers, and she would be damned if any other would ever have him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The necklace/amulet is real…I know, but I am a jewelry designer and so I had a bit of fun creating all the jewelry for this story, anyway a picture of the necklace can be found on my Tumblr page.


	14. Promises Broken

Turning over, Darcy smiled contently as she opened her eyes to find Loki gazing down at her. His hair was still disheveled from sleep and lovemaking, and the softest smile still lingering around his lips.

It had been a few days since Liadain had once again found him, and Darcy had done her best to keep his nightmares at bay. Sadly long bouts of sex couldn't keep the witch from invading his dreams once he had finally fallen asleep. Several times she had been woken up by Loki's muttering and whimpers, only to watch helpless as he fought the Weaver in his mind. Other times he would shoot awake, reaching for her and proceed to make love to her all over again.

Though she had asked several times, he refused to tell her what Liadain spoke to him of. With every nightmare she began to realize she was better off not knowing, as Loki seemed to spend his days with a haunted look shadowing his eyes.

Loki leaned down, pressing a soft, loving kiss to her lips, and pulled her tightly into his body. She couldn't seem to get enough of him, now that she finally had him as her own. She thought maybe it was her Alpha female coming through; she saw Liadain as a threat and was marking her territory. It was a silly thought that made her almost laugh, but she was sure there was some truth in there.

Darcy had just thrown her leg over his hip when he pulled back with a growl. Looking over Loki's bare shoulder, she groaned when she saw both Weavers standing there silently, as though patiently waiting for them to finish.

"Go back to your roof, I shall be there momentarily." Loki fell back into the pillows; the hand he had wrapped around Darcy's back, now pinching the bridge of his nose. How he longed for the privacy of his chambers in Asgard, if only for the fact that no one ever dared enter there, not even his mother.

The sisters nodded, and without a word to anyone, turned and made their way back towards the roof of the lab. Darcy waited until she could no longer see them before turning back to Loki and running a hand down his sparsely furred chest.

"Alright, what is going on?" She circled her index finger around his navel a couple of times, teasing him by dipping lower momentarily before returning to trace his bellybutton. She knew it was driving him crazy, to complete distraction, and she knew she shouldn't be doing it when there were more serious matters to deal with, but at the moment she really couldn't give a flying rat's ass.

"I do not know, but I doubt it could be anything good." With a low growl he grabbed her hand, pulling it back before leaning over to press a single kiss along her brow. He hated to leave her, mostly when it appeared she was in a rather amorous mood, but he knew the sisters wouldn't wait. In fact he was pretty sure they would interrupt them in the middle of it. Resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be getting anything that morning, he stood and clothed himself with a wave of his hand.

"It really isn't fair, you've not only got all that sculpted godly good looks, but you don't even have to spend a second primping." Darcy flung herself back into the pillows, not even bothering to cover up. He had seen, touched, and tasted everything she had, no use in being shy now.

"I could always do the same for you, if you only asked." Loki lifted a single brow, his eyes moving over the mortal beauty before him. He didn't know why she complained so much, he thought she was beautiful, mostly as she was at that moment; nude, hair all tangled from his hands, her milky skin flushed and speckled with his love bites.

"No thank you, I have a pretty good feeling if I did I would be spending my days naked as the day I was born." She stretched in a vain attempt to lure him back to the bed, her legs parting just enough to be enticing. She laughed when he shook his head, she knew as well as he that their morning was finished, the Weavers had seen to that.

"Only to my eyes, to all others you would be covered head to toe." Just the thought that another would see her as he did now, sent a shock of anger through him.

"In all seriousness, Loki, what are you planning with the twins?" Darcy's question effectively ended their playful banter, but the question had been something that had been running through her mind for some time.

"That is not something for you to worry about." Loki gave her a sad smile. He knew it would hurt her, what he would do, until she was told the truth. And if he survived that was just he planned on doing, telling her nothing but the truth.

Knowing the twins were waiting, Loki turned and headed for the roof, only to be stopped by Darcy. Her nude body collided against his back, her arms coming around to clasp together over his stomach.

"Remember what you promised me…please." At that point Darcy wasn't past begging, she had just gotten him and she would be damned if she would lose him now.

He grabbed her hands, lifting one to his lips to kiss, before pulling away and leaving up to the roof without a word or looking back. Darcy sighed and walked back to the pile of pillows that they called a bed. She didn't like being helpless, she didn't like it at all.

* * *

 

When Loki walked onto the roof he eyed as Barton he started for the stairs. Even though he knew the mortal had no designs on Darcy, and that he had aligned himself with Rhonwen, he still felt weary about the man spending any time with her.

"I would watch myself, Barton, if you lay even one eye on Darcy while she is unclothed, I shall castrate you." Preferably in public, and then boil him in oil, but Loki didn't think it was necessary to state all of that.

"Hey dude, I won't even look that way. I've already told you I don't see her that way, it would be like seeing a sister naked…mentally scarring." Clint held his hands up as he walked past the crazy alien god. He really would never understand what Darcy saw in him, the man was crazier than a glue sniffer.

Loki nodded, but did not move until Barton had left. Once gone he joined the sisters at the other side of the roof.

"So, what was so important that you couldn't have waited at least two more hours?" Though he knew it could only be about Liadain, he couldn't help but hope for something different to come out of their mouths. She had visited his dreams constantly since that first night, angry at his deceit with his cousins, and more so about his relationship with Darcy.

Even with Darcy's best efforts, he still slept and dreamed. Liadain would show him visions of what she would do to Darcy, what she would make him do. Those nightmares made the ones Rhonwen wove for him seem like children's stories. He truly feared Liadain getting her hands on Darcy, he would rather kill her himself than allow her to be placed in that woman's sadistic clutches.

"It is time." Bronwen was quick and to the point, unlike her sister she felt nothing towards the Asgardians and mortals. She would protect them as she had given her word, but she felt no need to coddle them. If they could not handle the truth or understand her, it was not her problem.

"Is it now?" Loki lifted that singular brow, his face showing nothing but a passing curiosity. Inside he was raging. He hadn't had enough time with Darcy; he wasn't ready to leave her. The chance that he could die was high, he knew that, and for one of the first times in his life he actually felt fear.

"Liadain grows restless, it is time to strike." Bronwen's words were cold, she knew her sister would have sugar coated them, but in her opinion such a thing made her sister weak.

"And how will you do that, may I ask?" He knew the general details of the Weavers' plans, but there were still particulars they had left out. Like the actual 'how' of it.

"We have already sent for our allies, several are headed to where we have tracked Liadain's thread at this very moment, the rest are on their way here." Rhonwen spoke before her sister. She loved Bronwen, but her sister could be cold to others, mostly those who were not of their race.

"I do not see how…." Loki was confused, the Banishment had been lifted for the sisters only, he knew with Odin's hatred for the Weavers he would have never agreed to allow others through.

"The threads, Loki. The banishment has only worked this long because there hasn't been any threads for Liadain to grasp a hold of and follow here. Once our allies join us, using our threads as a way to gain access to the planet, there will be enough to allow her to bypass Odin's banishment." It was only for this reason that Rhonwen and the others had allowed Odin to banish their entire race from Earth, because they knew the only other way to deal with Liadain would have been to kill her.

"She will be coming here?" Loki felt a moment of panic as he thought about Darcy. Liadain wanted to get her hands on her so bad, and they were leading her straight to her.

"Yes, but do not worry. The necklace that Darcy now wears will block her presence from Liadain; she will not be able to recognize her. She will be safe as long as she does not see her."

"I warn you now, Dream Weaver, should anything happen to Darcy no one in the Nine Realms will be able to save you. I will hunt each and every one of you down and slaughter you where you stand. Every man, woman and child." Loki would kill every last one of the Weavers in payment for Darcy's life. He would see them burn.

"Darcy will be safe, you have my word." Rhonwen hoped that she would be able to keep her promise, for there were certain aspects of their plan that they had not told Loki, and for very good reason.

* * *

 

Throughout the day several Weavers arrived, men and women both. Darcy had never seen anything like it. She suddenly felt like she had been transported to Middle Earth, well Glam Rock Middle Earth. What was it with the markings on their faces anyway?

Darcy stayed close to Loki the whole time, only being parted when he had begged a word with his brother. It was then, even after he had promised her all that was happening was simply an influx of allies that Rhonwen had invited to stay, that she knew something was wrong. Loki never wanted to talk with Thor. She had tried to weasel out of him what he had discussed, but he was tight lipped about the whole thing.

At the moment she was curled up against Loki's side as they watched the group of Weavers mill about. If she had felt insignificant before, she truly did now. She had never seen so many beautiful people in all her life, beautiful, ethereal people. And it seemed as if she wasn't the only one.

Thor and Jane were across from them, both looking just as uncomfortable as she did. Well Jane did, Thor just kept sending her and Loki strange looks; looks that she was really trying to ignore.

Loki tried not to roll his eyes. Thor had no subtlety at all. He looked like a guilty little boy that couldn't keep a secret, and it was beginning to piss him off. He had gone to him, not out of love or even want, but out of need; a need to protect and care for Darcy should the worst happen. He knew Thor hadn't really understood, but he wasn't about to tell the oaf everything that was about to happen, and he had to admit, his confusion at being asked to take care of Darcy was a bit amusing.

Still, Loki felt relief at knowing that should he die at Liadain's hands, Thor would care for and protect Darcy as though she were his sister. Even if he wasn't there, she would have everything she could ever want.

* * *

 

It was later that night when things started to go downhill. Loki sent Darcy to bed without him, claiming wakefulness and a need for a walk. She had shrugged her shoulders, just thinking he was trying to put off the nightmares for as long as he could. Sex wouldn't always work, and she was sure he would wake her for at least a kiss once he returned. Only he never did.

She realized something was off when she awoke around one in the morning to find that Loki wasn't beside her, and from the looks of it, he hadn't been at all. Getting up, she threw on a robe around her shoulders and tip-toed her way outside. The scene she found there almost caused her to scream if she hadn't been frozen in place in absolute fear and betrayal.

Loki stood only a few yards away talking with a Weaver she had only seen shadows of in her dreams. Liadain. She couldn't hear as they spoke from where she was, only the way that the two were leaning into each other. She thought her heart had broken when she had found him in the desert with Rhonwen, now it was surely shattered to pieces as she watched Loki break his promise to her.

She now understood, he had always planned to join Liadain. How could she have been so wrong?

* * *

 

Loki knew the moment Liadain had arrived; her magic filled the desert like a heavy fog, curling itself around him the instant she pulled through the banishment. He had waited out just beyond the lab as Rhonwen had instructed him, and in the early hours of the morning the Weaver finally showed herself. The energy pouring off her of was sickening. It made Loki's stomach coil in on itself, the stench of it was like death, insanity and pain all rolled into one.

"You wait for me? How considerate of you." Liadain's smile was truly frightening, stretching from corner to corner with a hint of her rather sharp teeth poking out over her bottom lip. It was the smile of a predator when they knew they had their catch.

"You may think what you like." Loki showed only indifference, it was the only way he knew how to hide the absolute anger he felt for the woman before him.

"Oh come now, My Prince, we both knew you would come willingly. You want power, you want to rule. I can give you that. Besides, you think that if you come to me I'll forget about your little whore." The little piece of trash that she planned to be rid of soon. Liadain had hoped to find the mortal engaged with Loki, to deal with her after such a thing would have been divine.

"I doubt that. You're not one to share, are you?" He knew he couldn't show just how much her words bothered him, or to give any indication that Darcy was just inside the lab sleeping peacefully.

"No, I'm not. No matter, we have time to deal with the whore later." Liadain held out her hand, watching with a wicked smirk as Loki placed his in hers.

"Good boy. Now, shall we?" She didn't wait for him to answer, simply pulled him back through the realms, back along the thread she had used to travel there.

Loki had traveled many ways in his life, but he had never felt the strange dizziness that came with being transported alongside of Liadain across realms and threads. When they finally landed, they were in the same stone chamber that Loki remembered from his dreams. It was just as dreary, just as unforgiving as it had been in his sleep.

"Cozy, isn't it? The place once belonged to an old elf witch. Nasty piece of work, she had all that power and still she allowed herself to look like a wrinkled old crone." Liadain waved her hand behind her as she removed herself from Loki. She looked for all the world as though she were talking about nothing more significant than the weather.

"What happened to her?" Loki really didn't want to know, but he had to keep her talking, keep her distracted while the others worked.

"Oh, what do you do with an old hen?" Liadain flipped her hair behind her shoulder and motioned to a pile of moldering bones in the corner, humanoid and animal alike.

Loki swallowed back the bile that rose in his throat as he watched Liadain move about the chamber. He might have gone a little mad after he fell from the Bifrost, but you could literally see the insanity in Liadain's eyes. There was not a hint of sanity there. The woman had been driven mad past all boundaries.

"Idris! Come my boy, our guest has finally arrived." Liadain flung herself upon the throne, not caring that her dress had risen above her knees. Not that it really mattered as one could see completely through the thin white silk.

Loki blinked, looking around the chamber as she spoke. Did the woman hallucinate as well? Just as he thought that, the draperies behind the large stone throne parted to reveal a young man. He wore the typical garb of the Weaver men, a pair of tan leather breeches with knee-length black boots and a white linen shirt. His markings were similar to Liadain's, only the silver was duller, more a light gray than anything else.

Idris walked to where Liadain was draped over her throne, and sat down at her feet, leaning back. Liadain began to pet the boy as though he was an animal, and to Loki's surprise, the boy practically purred.

"This is Idris, he has been my only companion for the past two hundred years." Liadain spoke of the boy as one would talk about a beloved dog, not a full grown man.

"What is wrong with the boy?" Loki had known something was wrong the moment he stepped from behind the throne; there was an emptiness to him, an unnatural emptiness. It disturbed him greatly.

"Nothing, I have simply…I am sure my cousins have explained to you what we are able to do."

Loki nodded his head, watching as Idris curled himself along Liadain's legs. The action sent bile once again straight to his throat.

"When I ripped him from his mother I severed all threads to his treacherous father, my son. I, from his birth, wove the threads in his mind. I control him completely." Liadain smiled down at the young man, her fingers running through his fine hair.

"You have made him nothing but a shell." Visions of his own body, his face set with those same dull eyes as Idris, passed through his mind. He fully understood the gravity of what Rhonwen had been telling him. Of what Liadain was capable of.

"Of course, and isn't it lovely? He doesn't speak unless I wish him to, he obeys my every command. He is the perfect companion." She twirled a lock of Idris' hair around a couple of fingers and pulled hard enough to draw a bit of blood.

"If he is so perfect, why do you need me?" Loki continued to hide his revulsion, even as he saw a few drops of blood stain the young Weaver's hair.

"Because, Idris is weak, my weaving at such an early age has rendered him powerless. You on the other hand, oh you are dripping with it." Liadian looked practically gleeful at the prospect of holding that much power.

"And you expect me to just let you use my power?" Loki laughed a bit; she was truly crazy if she believed he would join her after everything.

"Oh, goodness no, I plan to tear apart your mind and reweave it until you are as docile as Idris here." Liadain ran her fingers through the boy's hair once again, and Loki shivered as he nuzzled his nose against the side of her leg despite the pain she must have been causing.

"You really think I would allow you to do that to me? After everything you have done, have shown me? That I would align myself with you after you threatened to destroy what is mine?" Loki raised a hand, tired of the woman before him and suddenly not caring about Rhonwen's plan. His brows furrowed as he waved his hand again. Liadain just laughed.

"And you really think I wouldn't put up protections against your power? As long as you are here within these stones you will be unable to use your magic." Liadain stood disregarding the young man at her feet or the longing look he sent her.

"Now, it has been such a very long time since I've traversed the realms. I think I shall retire." She walked over to the drapes and pulled them aside, stopping to look back at him before she entered.

"If you get bored Idris will be more than happy to entertain you, just don't damage him too much. Goodnight my Prince." Liadain smirked at him before leaving past the drapes.

Loki ran after to follow her, but Idris grabbed a hold of his arms, holding him back. Loki looked to the boy and cringed. His eyes were blank, dull like dry river stones.

He looked back towards the drapes and sighed. He hoped Rhonwen and the others were ready, because he didn't doubt that Liadain would start working on him as soon as she returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Though I didn't really describe what she was wearing, just for fun I did make the necklace she would be wearing. Again it is up on my Tumblr.


	15. Beginning of the End

Darcy curled herself up among the pillows of the pallet she had shared with Loki. His scent; something clean like fresh fallen snow, filled her lungs with every hitched breath. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks from reddened eyes. Her chest hurt as much as her pride, she seriously couldn't have seen what she had. He had promised, he had fucking promised!

She knew from the beginning that her feelings would only cause pain, fuck even Clint had tried to warn her. But no, Darcy had refused to believe he would actually go through with it; that she meant enough to him that he would refuse Liadain. Oh how she had been wrong, she had meant nothing in the end.

A noise from the roof stairs brought Darcy from her self-pity. She clumsily sat up, wiping the tears from her face as she noticed the twins, not only enter the lab, but head straight for her. She watched as they split up, Rhonwen heading outside while Bronwen stopped before her.

"You need to compose yourself and put this on." Bronwen flung a piece of white fabric in her lap. She didn't understand why the mortal was so distressed, even had this not been the plan, it was only logical that Loki would join with her cousin. Loki craved power and he was arrogant enough to believe he could gain both her cousin's power and retain the mortal's heart. It was only because of her sister's interference that Loki had chosen the path he had.

"Why should I?" Darcy didn't want to compose herself, she wanted to scream, to shout and throw things. She wanted to curse Loki out, to find him and taze his tight little ass. But most of all she just wanted to be left alone so she could curl up in a ball and mourn the fact that she was a huge boob for actually believing Loki.

"Because you are needed in destroying Liadain, and you can not wear the clothes of modern Earth, but fabric woven by my people. Now, hurry, we are not sure how much time we have." Bronwen walked away without waiting for a response. She didn't worry that the mortal would dismiss her, she was sure the woman would see the folly in it.

Darcy looked down at the white fabric that was pooled on her lap. It felt much like linen, and yet it was softer, more like silk. It was strange to hold, like trying to grasp a hold of air and water, and yet remained there, solid, in her fingers.

She unfolded it; her brows furrowing as she looked on the design. It looked much like the robes all the female Weavers wore. It was long with a boat neck that would most likely fall off at least one shoulder and ankle length bell like sleeves. She gave a wet laugh when she noticed the whole thing was trimmed in green and gold knot work. The dress actually matched Loki's Asgardian clothing.

"Wear nothing beneath the robes, not even shoes upon your feet. You will need to be as close to the energy of the Earth as possible." Rhonwen watched as the young mortal ran her fingers over the spider-silk dress. The woman's wet cheeks gave her pause, for she knew the reason for them. If only there had been another way, if only she had ended her cousin's tyranny before it had really began. What future would there have been for her people, for the mortals had Liadain died alongside her husband and children?

"Ok, what the fuck is going on? How am I supposed to help? Hello, mortal here, no magic!" Darcy held her hands out, a single brow lifted at Rhonwen. What did it matter if she wore knee high boots and a parka with the dress or strode out full on nude, there was no way she could ever help defeat Liadain. No matter how much she wished to tear the woman's head from her body, and her heart from her chest.

"You will know soon enough. Do not think yourself so weak, Darcy Lewis; strength comes in many forms, not just the ability to manipulate the energies. The most powerful magic can be wielded by mortal and immortal alike." The door behind Rhonwen opened though she had no need to look. They would need more than the mortal.

"What magic is that?" Darcy ignored Jane and Thor as they stepped up behind Rhonwen, ignored the confusion that practically flowed from them. The whole of her attention remained on the Weaver before her.

"You already know the answer. Now, prepare yourself and meet us out back in the desert."

* * *

 

Darcy walked out of the lab feeling really silly; she couldn't pull off the dress like the Weavers. She looked less like an ethereal immortal elf, and more like a little girl playing dress up. Sure the dress fit her perfectly, fluttering down from her frame and just touching her curves. Hell, even the neck which she feared would fall from her shoulders, rested perfectly along her clavicle, even helping to highlight her breasts. Still she felt wrong in it.

She stopped just a couple of yards out of the building, her eyes growing wide at the sight before her. Every single Weaver stood gathered in a wide circle, positioned shoulder to shoulder. There was only one break in the ring, and that was between Rhonwen and her sister.

Darcy headed towards the break, her eyes scanning over the Weavers, each and every one wore robes of some sort, and everyone barefoot the same as her. It was so beyond surreal that Darcy had to fight a laugh, mostly after she caught sight of the three in the center of the circle.

Jane and Clint stood surveying the Weavers around them, their jeans and t-shirts being strangely out of place among the magical creatures. Even Thor, who stood beside Jane in full Asgardian regalia, looked silly compared to the Weavers.

"So why exactly do I have to wear this and not them?" Darcy spoke to Rhonwen, but her hand waved at the three in the center.

"Because out of them, only Thor shall be needed for this task; though his purpose is not the same as yours." Rhonwen shifted to allow Darcy to fit between her and Bronwen. She couldn't help but notice how well suited the robes of her people were on the mortal, and how much finer she would look in those of Asgard.

"Where is my brother?" Thor's eyes searched through the gathering, seeking out Loki, but he was nowhere to be seen. He strode forward, placing his hand upon Darcy's shoulder. He was shocked when the young mortal tried and failed to hold back tears at his question.

"He's gone. He went with Liadain. She came for him about an hour ago, and he went with her." The hand on Darcy's shoulder tensed before Thor let her go. She wiped at her eyes, turning them to look up at the Asgardian beside her. The tears she saw gathering at the corners of his eyes was enough to make her want to scream.

"Then he has betrayed us!" Thor wanted to roar, the conversation from before finally making sense. Loki had known this would happen; he had planned on betraying them from the beginning. And yet, it still didn't seem right. Jane moved quickly to Thor's side, grabbing his arm and pulling him to her.

Clint watched, his mind reviewing and calculating everything that had happened since he had returned to New Mexico. Every conversation he had with Rhonwen, every time he caught his beautiful Weaver with Loki on the roof. The promise she had secured from him. He now understood. He moved quickly to Rhonwen's side, and thus Darcy's as well.

"He can't have, he promised me he wouldn't willingly go to her. Something must be wrong, he just…..he promised me…." Darcy felt like the biggest fool the more she talked, mostly when she caught the pitying look on Jane's face. She just knew the older woman was giving her the 'I told you so' talk in her head. Jane had tried to tell her at the beginning of it all, tried to warn her about Loki's nature, but Darcy had ignored her. And for that she felt even worse.

"But you said yourself that you saw him leave with her. Willingly." Thor gnashed his teeth together when Darcy meekly nodded her head. His brother had gone too far this time. He had actually believed that Loki had changed; he had seen how he had been with the young mortal and had believed he had seen such a great change. It pained him greatly to know his brother had played Darcy the way he had, it hurt him even more knowing he could have stopped it had he just said or done something. He would never be able to forgive Loki for this, or himself.

"Then he has lied to you and betrayed us!"

"He can't have, he just can't! Rhonwen? Surely Liadain had controlled him or something, he wouldn't betray me. Please…." A few more tears slipped from Darcy's eyes, which she turned towards the Weaver at her side. She looked for any clue, any hint from the woman that she had been right, but Rhonwen remained blank faced. Her eyes closed and she turned away, allowing Clint to gather her in his arms. She held tightly to him, taking comfort even though she knew the man that held her would be another that would be saying 'I told you so' by the end of the day.

"This is what you had been talking about?" Clint looked into Rhonwen's eyes, seeing the regret there, though he knew no one else would be able to. She gave him a slight nod before turning her gaze to look between Darcy and Thor.

"Loki went with Liadain willingly…." Rhonwen held up a hand when Thor began to roar. "…he went willingly, because I asked it of him." She dropped her hand to her side, watching on as the mortals and Asgardians went silent and still. Confusion and shock showed clearly on all their faces, all but Jane's.

"The threads...You said they are all connected, that Liadain and Loki are connected…." Jane moved to stand in front of Thor, her eyes wide as something clicked in her head. She couldn't fathom exactly why Rhonwen would ask Loki to willingly join with Liadain, but she would bet everything she had it had something to do with the threads her and her sister were always going on about.

"You are on the right path, Jane. There was a purpose to my asking this of Loki, and they concern the threads. Liadain can not be killed by normal means, she is too powerful. She would be able to unweave the mind of any attacker before any damage could be done to her. The only way to successfully destroy her is for us to tear apart her mind. Loki will be helping us with this task." Rhonwen suppressed the tears that wanted to spill from her eyes at what they would soon be doing. Liadain was the cause of so many deaths, her husband and daughters included, but Rhonwen had never taken a life before. It bothered her that the first would be that of her own blood.

"How?" Darcy stepped back from Clint and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and eyes. Hope began to blossom in her chest, hope that she had been right and Loki hadn't broken his promise….well not really.

"I have been training Loki. Showing him how to feel when a weaver is in his mind and how to manipulate their threads. Liadain will try to reweave his mind, and when she does so we will follow his thread all the way into her mind. We will then tear apart and cut all threads, thus killing her. This is why he broke his promise, because he had already made one to me." Rhonwen inclined her head towards Darcy, true regret in her heart for what she had done to the lovers.

"How will you follow Loki's thread? Since he is not here, I mean." Darcy felt anger towards the Weaver beside her. She understood their need of Loki's help, but she couldn't help the small amount of hate that filled her heart at what the sisters had done; at the danger they willingly put Loki in.

"Through me; I have strengthened the threads between us through our training, they are now strong enough that they will allow me to follow them. Liadain will not be expecting us to…what is the phrase you use….piggyback, on Loki's thread. She will be unable detect or to stop us."

"But what happens if she  _is_  able to detect you?" Darcy couldn't understand how someone would be unable to tell when another was in their mind, let alone the twenty or thirty that would be in Liadain's.

"Several of our number have been sent to where we have tracked her thread. If we are unsuccessful they will attempt to capture her and will forcefully tear her apart. No matter what happens, Liadain will die." Rhonwen's voice held a note of finality, it was clear to everyone that heard her; Liadain would die that way one way or another. There could be no other ending.

Appeased by Rhonwen's explanation, Thor led Jane out of the circle before returning to stand in the very center. He clutched the hammer in his hand tightly, his body going ridged and ready. It was a stance Darcy had only ever heard about from Clint's stories of the Battle of New York.

"So, what exactly is it that I'm supposed to be doing?" Darcy flung her arms out, gesturing to everyone around her. The Weavers continued to stand in a circle, Thor dead center. Though both Jane and Clint stood several yards outside of the ring, as though their very presence would hinder the Weaver's actions. Maybe it did, what did Darcy know about such things?

"Darcy…what Loki will be doing will be dangerous. He could easily die." Rhonwen placed a heavy hand on Darcy's shoulder, her fingers pressing in just slightly.

"What do you mean?" A sharp pain shot through Darcy's stomach. She wasn't ready to lose him, she didn't think she would ever be ready.

"Loki is strong, but he was not born to wield Weaver magic. Though he has shown promise, most likely an affinity as a result of the usage of his own magic, he is unable to use our magic to the same degree as his own. Because of this he could easily get himself tangled up in Liadain's threads and find himself torn apart along with her.

"This is why you are needed, you must guide him back. You must be his anchor so he can survive." Rhonwen removed her hand from the young woman's shoulder, her whole body turning to her instead, eyes boring right into Darcy's.

"And how am I to do that? I don't have any magic, no matter what you say." Darcy felt dejected, that feeling of inadequacy once again popping its ugly head up. She was nothing special, just a mortal girl with a tazer and amazing coffee making skills.

"You have magic enough in you, in your heart. As for how you will be able to use that magic, I shall help you. I will be temporarily connecting my thread to Loki with yours and lead you to him. You'll know once you are there, you will just feel him with your entire being. I shall let go of you then and you must hold onto his thread tightly."

"Again, how?" Darcy didn't understand why Rhonwen wasn't listening to her. She had no magic, no knowledge of how to do anything she was being asked to do.

"When you feel him imagine your threads as hands, you need to reach out and grab his in a fist and keep a tight hold. Once we start tearing apart Liadain's mind you will pull with everything you have, pull him back into your mind and hold him there. Your mind will keep him safe while we kill Liadain." Rhonwen knew that Loki would be beyond angry when all was said and done when he realized she had broken her promise, but at least he would be alive.

"What do I do after?" Darcy listened carefully, forcing herself to remember everything Rhonwen said. She might not believe she had magic in her, but she would do what she could if it meant saving Loki.

"Once Liadain is dead you can let go, and one of the others will bring him back here. Do not worry Darcy; all you need is your love for him. He will feel you; he will fight to be with you. Now come, we must prepare."

* * *

 

Loki was bored. He really thought there would be a bit more…excitement after Liadain took him. But there he was lounging on the stone throne as Idris played with a few pebbles on the ground. It was ridiculous actually. He had been there for several hours and all Liadain had done was tell him that she was going to turn him into a shell for her use and then go to bed. Pathetic.

He rolled his eyes before setting them on Idris. The man, well boy really, tossed about the pebbles, tossing and catching them. He wore a bright smile as though the little game he had made up was the best thing in the universe. The boy's presence made Loki uneasy. He looked full grown, but you could see that something was wrong with him in his eyes. He wasn't even childlike; he was more like an animal.

"Would you stop that infernal noise?!" Loki huffed out a breath when Idris just smiled up at him before returning to toss a few more pebbles. He shook his head and leaned back in the throne. For so long he had dreamed of the day he would be able to perch upon one, the proper place for a king. Now all he wanted was to never see the damned thing again.

A noise behind him pulled Loki from his thoughts. He looked up at the woman that walked quietly around to stand before him. Liadain had changed, her new dress even more revealing than the one before. Loki just raised his eyes at the quite see-through fabric. Surely she didn't plan to seduce him?

"I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to return. You make a pretty lousy villain." Loki appeared nonchalant as he sat up in the throne, his eyes resting casually on Liadain.

"I really couldn't care less what you think. I only need you for your power." She shrugged her shoulders and tossed her hair behind her. It really didn't matter what he thought of her, before long she would be his world. She would make sure he forgot all about his little mortal whore.

"Oh, yes, my power. So are you planning on doing whatever it is you are going to do any time soon, or are you planning on maybe taking a bath first?" Loki felt his bile rise as Liadain laughed and walked up to cup his chin. Her fingers were long, thin and very strong. He had no doubt she could bust his jaw quite easily. It seemed she was much stronger physically as well as magically than her cousins. He had never felt such strength from Rhonwen, unless of course the Weaver had concealed it.

Loki found his stomach churning as Liadain leaned in, licking along his lips before kissing him fully.

"I thought that maybe we could have a bit of fun first. A Sort of award for coming to me so willingly." Liadain ran her tongue across his lips once more, though much slower than before.

"What makes you think I would want what you have to offer?" Loki pulled away slightly, though he quashed the urge to wipe at his mouth. Liadain might have been a physically pleasing woman, but she was repulsive in every other way. She was like the tombs of Asgard, from the surface one could only see the finely carved marble and gold gilding, but beneath she hid nothing but moldering bones and flesh.

"Who says I'm offering you a choice? I don't generally ask for what I want, I simply take." She pressed her lips to his again, harsher than before, her mouth unrelenting as she plundered his own. Loki was slammed back into the throne as she pulled back with a yelp when he bit down, drawing blood from her bottom lip.

"You shall pay for that. I was going to go easy on you…." Liadain licked her bloodied lip, her tongue curling to wipe away every drop in reach. With a fire in her eyes that actually sent fear through Loki, she flung forward and clamped her hand on his chin hard enough that time he swore he felt his jaw crack. He felt her enter his mind then, the thread spearing through his forehead like a burning knife.

He screamed out loud, collapsing from the throne so he was kneeling at her feet. The pain continued, the thread tearing through his brain with great vengeance. He could feel her hate and insanity as she pushed her way further and further in.

It took him a moment to get past the blindness and the ringing in his ears, a moment for him to focus and find her thread and grasp a hold of it. When he finally had it in hand he did just as Rhonwen had shown him, slipping it harmlessly between his own threads and sending it off in a direction that would do little damage.

He slid backwards then, retracing the thread's path until he reached the entry point. Carefully he moved beyond his mind, slipping into Liadain's. He stood there shocked at what he saw. Liadain's mind looked nothing like her cousin's. Instead of the gallery of finely finished tapestries, he beheld before him mounds of decaying threads.

A pain so sharp that it caused blood to trickle from Loki's nose and mouth, shot through his head as Liadain tried to maneuver her thread along the right path. He hoped Rhonwen and the others would hurry up, for he wasn't sure he could hold onto his own sanity much longer.


	16. Rending Threads

Darcy stood nervously between the twins, her eyes roving over the other Weavers. Not one of them smiled, not that she expected any of them to, they were there to execute one of their own after all. Still some sort of reassurance would be nice. Seeking such a thing, Darcy looked past the Weavers to Jane and Clint, both standing far out of the way.

Jane looked anxious, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth where she worried it harshly enough that Darcy could see a single drop of blood trickle down her chin. Clint on the other hand had entered Hawkeye mode. He stood ridged beside the scientist, feet a shoulder width apart, arms straight down, fists tensed and ready to use dagger or bow at any sign of danger. He looked every bit a warrior, Darcy mused that he would seem right at home in armor such as that worn on Asgard.

Realizing that she wasn't going to find help among her two human friends, she turned her gaze towards Thor in the center of the circle. She blinked as she watched Thor twirl his hammer a few times, the skies above quickly turning a deadly gray as the alien god coaxed a storm into being. Her nervousness increased as she realized what Thor was doing. Darcy didn't like thunderstorms, and she really didn't like being out in one.

"Do not worry, Thor is very proficient at his craft, he will have full control of the storm." Rhonwen clasped the mortal's hand within hers, nodding towards her sister to do the same. The weaving would not be pleasant for the young woman; there was a good chance they would have to restrain her in order to keep her from hurting herself.

"Right, right…um so why is he creating a storm may I ask?" It seemed a bit cliché, rain during a great battle, but then again what was life without clichés?

"Our magic is based on the natural energies around us; Earth, fire, water, and air. By increasing the intensity of these energies we are better able to control our weavings. This is why we must put bare foot to dirt, wear fabric woven from organic elements, and this is why Thor will provide us with a storm." Rhonwen knew that Darcy would be unable to fully understand, mortals had long past forgotten the natural energies, or that they were of Earth herself.

"Ah yes, little water in the desert. Got it." Not that it really made her feel better, phobias were never rational. At least she suffered from a pretty normal one, an old classmate of hers used to be afraid of squirrels falling out of trees and onto her head.

"The time has come, Liadain has made her move. Prepare yourself young Darcy, I am about to twine our threads together so you may travel with us.

"Do not panic, you will feel a pressure in your head as soon as I do this, you may even feel as though your very breath has been stolen from you. But you must remember that you are perfectly safe, and to hold on tightly so you are not lost amongst the threads." Rhonwen turned away from Darcy then, her eyes closing as she focused on entering the mortal's mind. She reached out carefully, her thread moving slowly as not to startle the woman, and then with a soft caress she wrapped their threads together.

Darcy gasped out loud as she felt the mentioned pressure in her head, but it was more because of the strangely intimate feeling of having Rhonwen in her mind. Their twining threads felt like a gentle kiss, a mother's kiss upon the brow of her child.

In direct contrast to Rhonwen's careful weaving, Darcy felt the others join in their own threads. The feeling was harsh and invasive, and Darcy felt panic at it. Her instincts told her to push at the threads, shove them away from and out of her mind, but she held back knowing to do so could end up meaning the death of Loki and the imprisonment of the Nine Realms.

With dismay Darcy realized just what Rhonwen had been trying to warn her about. Her lungs seemed to close up, stale air trapped within her body, growing musty and foul with every second. She was screaming out, gasping for air that she could not seem to gather. She pulled at her hands, desperately trying to claw at her throat, but the hands holding hers held strong.

Distantly she could hear Jane, pleading with the Weavers to let her go, and Darcy had a momentary thought about how she must look; thrashing and writhing about, her throat growing raw from her screams. A soft touch, that motherly presence once again brushed against her mind, seeking to sooth away the panic, and finally Darcy was able to put everything behind her and focus on what mattered; reaching Loki.

Rhonwen's presence drew back from her just as she felt that of another. Though she had never entered his mind, she knew without a doubt they had reached Loki. Darcy could hardly think of a way to describe the sensation, it was like coming home, like pulling on an old and favorite sweater. It was familiar and she knew that after feeling such a thing she would never be able to let him go. Should he ever leave her she would spend the rest of her life searching for a way to bring him back. It was a frightening thought, as well as a comforting one.

Reaching out, Darcy grasped ahold of Loki's tread, holding on as tightly as she could. Rhonwen fully retreated then, leaving the two lovers bound. Though Darcy could once again breathe, another kind of agony plagued her. Through his thread she could feel not only Loki, but the pain that was being inflicted upon him, and it scared her to death. He was not just in pain; he was mindless with it, quickly losing himself to the torture.

She held onto him more tightly then, pushing as much of her love, her happiness into him as she could. Darcy grew tired the harder she pushed, but she refused to let go. She sent a silent plea to Rhonwen that they would hurry; she didn't know how much more either of them could take.

* * *

 

Loki felt more blood trickle from his mouth as Liadain moved through his mind. He could hear her curse, yelling about how he had deceived her and had been able to throw her off. She just worked all the harder. He held onto the thread that led out of Liadain's mind like one holds onto the edge of the cliff they are dangling from. He couldn't let go, not until Rhonwen and the others passed through to the witch's mind.

When he finally felt their presence he was surprised to find another, one much more familiar to him. One he longed for, and yet feared to find there. He growled through the pain being inflicted upon him, he would kill Rhonwen when this was over for involving Darcy.

Darcy's mind clamped down on his own, wrapping him tightly against her. He tried to keep his pain away for her, but he knew he failed when he felt her sorrow through their connection. He held on tightly to her as she sent him her love, and he used it as a shield against the pain Liadain was causing him.

Loki jolted as a bloodcurdling scream rent the air around him; it was the sound of the agony of being torn apart piece by piece while alive. He looked up to the mounds of threads that made up Liadain's mind and was shocked as they began to tear, the bundles setting aflame as the Weavers cleaved her apart.

He could feel Darcy attempt to pull his mind away from Liadain's, but he wouldn't move, couldn't move. In his mind he could hear her screaming at him, that he had to move or he would die. Yet he stayed put, frozen to the spot as he watched as the threads were destroyed one by one.

"Loki! If you don't move we will both die!" Darcy pulled all the harder, refusing to give up.

At her words Loki allowed Darcy to pull him back, back out of Liadain's mind, through his own and down into Darcy's back on Earth. There Darcy cradled him in her mind, whispering words that soothed the lingering burn of pain. He huddled close to her, waiting for the end.

* * *

 

Outside of the massive stone fortress Liadain had taken up residence in a group of forty Weavers gathered. Unlike their brethren on Earth, they wore heavy armor of leather and silver, finely wrought swords at their hips.

As one they could feel as the others grasped ahold of Liadain, their own threads rending apart those of the witch Weaver, severing all energy that allowed her to live.

Idwal curled his fingers around the hilt of his sword, gripping it tightly enough that the blood fled from his digits, turning them a stark white. Within those walls his mother was being pulled apart, a just end for the Devourer of Men, the Witch of Briarwood. He also knew that his son, Idris dwelled there. He knew what must be done, and yet he wished to look upon the face of his son just once.

Idwal slowly unsheathed his sword, the pale moonlight glinting off of the silver blade, making the engraving glow blue. He allowed his eyes to slip over the words he had etched into the silver himself two hundred years ago.

"Idris, son of Idwal, taken as a babe, but never from his father's heart."

With a single nod the Weavers moved as one. It was time to end the tyranny of Liadain and remove the blight from their people.

* * *

 

Liadain screamed as her cousins and their allies tore through her mind. Her hands slipped from Loki, dropping his bleeding body to the cold stone floor. She grasped ahold of her head as she desperately tried to sever the connection to Loki, but her cousins had strengthened the bond too much. The thread was as thick as a steel cable, she just couldn't cut it.

Idris watched as his Queen screamed and clawed at her head. She thrashed around on the floor, blood trickling from her nose and ears. He ran for her, determined to comfort his Queen, to end her torment. Before he could reach her the room filled with others, others that looked like him and his Queen.

He raged as they moved towards Liadain, attacking anyone that dared to touch his Queen. He was jerked back and thrown to the floor, his head hitting the stone. Ignoring the pain he stood again, moving to protect his Queen, but stopped as a blade pierced his breast.

Idris fell to the ground, blood hitting the floor with soft wet plops as the etched silver blade was slipped from his chest. With his last breath he reached out, his hand falling limply inches away from his Queen.

Idwal watched as the light in his son's eyes faded. He told himself it was a kindness; his mother had destroyed his son the day he was born. What had been left was nothing more than a living shell.

He stepped away from Idris and knelt beside his mother. He lifted her chin so that she could see him, bringing a blade before her. He placed his forehead upon hers, his blade coming to rest under their chins.

"My mother, my blood, the shame of my heart. You took my life from me once; it is time I returned the favor." Idwal leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his mother's lips, her blood coating his mouth and chin as he slashed the edge of his sword across her throat.

All sound in the chamber quieted then. Liadain was finally dead.

* * *

 

Darcy held Loki in her mind, soothing him the best she could. She surrounded him with love, with happiness, joy and trust, and she could feel him wrap her emotions around him like a cloak. She just pulled it tighter around him, shielding him from all pain and worry.

The touch of a hand on her arm and the whisper in her ear alerted her to the world around her. Rhonwen's voice echoed quietly through her mind, telling her to let Loki go. She didn't want to, with him there she could protect him, but in the end she listened to the Weaver. She pulled back from Loki, whispering to him reassurances that he would be alright and they would see each other soon. Like a length of elastic, Loki's mind snapped back, away from her and back to his own mind, leaving Darcy feeling quite empty.

Darcy opened her eyes once she could no longer feel Loki, only to find herself lying on the ground sopping wet and with the twins kneeling beside her. She blinked a few times, both to clear the fog as well as remove the raindrop from the storm that still raged.

"Is it done?" Darcy lifted a hand to her throat, surprised at the raspy quality of her voice. No doubt a result of her screaming.

"Liadain is dead, her mind rent asunder and her throat slit from ear to ear. She will no longer plague any realm.

"Rest now, Darcy, your Loki will be returned to you soon." Rhonwen ran her hand along the forehead of the mortal, wiping away the last remnants of rain from the now dying storm. She soothed the girl as she succumbed to the darkness and passed out.

"What is the matter with Darcy, what have you done to her?" Jane knelt beside her friend, her breath ragged from fighting against Clint when he refused to allow her to help Darcy. She had watched as the young woman thrashed about, screaming in obvious pain, and she had been helpless to do anything.

"We have done nothing to her, she is simply exhausted. All she needs now is sleep and she will be well. She may have a headache when she wakes, but there will be no lasting effects." At least not physical, Darcy and Loki were sure to experience nightmares for days to come, but Rhonwen did not wish to burden the mortal with such knowledge.

Everyone was silent as Thor moved from the center of the circle to gather Darcy up in his arms. Jane followed as he entered the lab and placed her on the pallet of pillows she shared with his brother.

"Remain with Darcy in case she wakes, I wish to speak with Rhonwen momentarily." Thor pressed a kiss to Jane's forehead, and without waiting for a response, he once again left the lab.

He found the Weaver where he had left her, all but her sister gone. The only evidence there had been more than the two of them in the desert were the footprints in the sand.

"Lady Rhonwen, I wish to inquire about my brother…" Thor had never felt the most comfortable around the Weavers, but after watching the display from moments before and knowing what they had done, he found himself respecting them the same, if not more than his father.

"All is well; Loki survived and will be here within a day or two. Though I warn you, he will be in much the same state as Darcy. It will take time for both of them to recover, but they will be fine." Rhonwen refused to tell Thor just how close his brother came to perishing alongside her cousin. Had it not been for Darcy, Loki would have been dead.

"I thank you, Rhonwen of Briarwood, I and my household are in your debt." Thor bowed slightly, taking the Weaver's hand in his own to place a small kiss upon it.

"There is no need of thanks, and you owe a debt to no one. Had I not been so sentimental none of that would have happened." Rhonwen closed her eyes as Thor set a hand on her shoulder, giving her a careful squeeze.

"It was not your fault. You love your cousin, it is understandable. Believe me, I understand. Sometimes no matter what deplorable things the ones we love do, it is hard to do what must be done. Love is just that way." And he did know, even after what his brother had done, he couldn't make himself hate Loki. He was, and always would be, his brother.

"Thank you…Thor of Asgard." Rhonwen shook her head a bit before slipping from beside the alien god and into the waiting arms of her lover just a few yards away.

* * *

 

Loki opened his eyes, groaning as he felt pain in his whole body. A hand on his arm alerted him to the fact that he no longer resided within his mind alone.

"Take it easy, Prince of Asgard, just rest. We shall be returning you to Earth soon enough…just rest." The figure beside him looked much like the Weavers he had seen, though he was sure this one had not been on Earth when he had left.

Loki nodded at the Weaver before his eyes slid to Liadain. She lay prone along the stone floor, her throat slit from ear to ear, and her eyes wide. Her once beautiful white hair was curled in the pool of her blood.

Loki was surprised and shocked to see Idris beside her, his pale body clutched in the arms of another Weaver. Loki watched as the man rocked the boy's dead body back and forth, tears falling unchecked down his cheeks. All others around the room stood silent around the obviously grieving man, heads bowed in respect.

No longer able to keep his eyes open, Loki took the advice of the man beside him, and slept.


	17. Goodbyes And New Beginnings

When Loki next woke, it was to find his arms and legs wrapped tightly around Darcy on their pallet of pillows. It was a position he had begun to become familiar with. Since Darcy had brought him to her bed that first night, Loki had found himself unable to part from her, even in sleep. He would gather her to him possessively, and wake should she try to move from his grasp.

Loki looked down at the woman in his arms, his beautiful Darcy. He lifted a hand, running his thumb across her tear stained cheek. For just a moment he could believe that everything had been a dream. But for only a moment, for even though his time with Liadain seemed to be fading into the realm of past memories, the dirt and blood which covered his clothing brought everything into stark reality.

His eyes swept over his lover, searching for any sign of injury. Though he was positive he would not be alive were it not for Darcy, he was still livid that Rhonwen had broken her promise and involved her. If not for the fact that Darcy still breathed, Rhonwen's life would be forfit.

He smiled once he was assured of her wellbeing, his first true smile in a very long time. He closed his eyes, sleep once again pulling him under.

* * *

 

It took almost a week before Loki and Darcy were recovered. Though they remained sluggish, mostly Darcy, but she refused to stay a minute longer in bed. She needed a shower and a change of clothing, and by God she was going to get it.

They had slept most of their time in bed, unable to do much more than lean up to sip on cups of savory broth. Jane and the others had been worried, but Rhonwen assured them that it was only to be expected. Mortals and Asgardians were not meant to use the magic of the Weavers, and in doing so it had taken a toll on them.

Washed and dressed in fresh clothing, Loki and Darcy sat around the kitchen table with their friends, drinking coffee and tea. Darcy could tell Jane was curious about what happened, she knew that look in her friend's eyes. She was holding in hundreds of questions for the two of them, and was just thankful Jane was actually holding her tongue for once.

Normally Jane's inquisitive nature didn't bother her, but on this subject she wanted no questions. Besides the fact that she couldn't really answer over half of what Jane would ask; only the Weavers knew the whole truth of the matter, but for her part she had enough of evil elf witches and threads and wanted nothing more than to forget any of it ever happened. She knew Loki felt much the same.

"Brother, I feel I must bring up a point that seems to have been forgotten amongst all the excitement. Now that Liadain is dead, and you have recovered, we must return to Asgard." Thor took no joy in informing Loki of this point, mostly as he watched his brother's face transform from the relaxed smile to a cold blankness.

"Of course, how could I forget?" Loki sneered at Thor, how could he ever forget? He was sure Odin kept his cell ready for him, eager for the return of his pet frost giant.

Darcy set her coffee cup down on the table, suddenly finding the brew sour on her tongue. She had known he would have to return eventually, but she had deliberately suppressed that information. She could no longer ignore it, Thor would be returning to Asgard with Loki and Darcy would be left to her own devices. Well, she was just not going to stand for it. She saved Loki's ass, and now that tight little ass belonged to her. She was damned well not going to be separated from him.

"How long until we leave?" Darcy would have laughed at the differing expressions on the two brothers faces if she hadn't been gearing up for an argument. Thor looked confused for all about five seconds before he took on a condescending countenance. Loki on the other hand crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair with a smug smile stretching his lips.

"Now, look Darcy…"

"No, you look. I'm fucking tired of having my things taken away from me. First my ipod and now this?! Nope, sorry, not happening. If you're taking Loki to Asgard, then I'm sure as hell going, and there is nothing you can do to stop me." Ok, so maybe there was a whole lot he could do to stop her. Hello, mortal! Still, she would make Thor's remaining time on Earth a living hell if he refused.

"Well actually…."

"Actually Darcy is right. You take Loki to Asgard, we are going." Jane ignored the shocked expressions on Darcy and Clint's faces, but she was done with playing the damsel awaiting her shining prince. It was the damned twenty-first century, time to take the bull by the horns, or she guessed the god by the hammer.

Thor pinched the bridge of his nose. He loved Jane, and he really did see Darcy as a sister, but sometimes they did exasperate matters, riding on his last nerve as they did. Never had he met two more stubborn women, or others that could rile him so.

"Now is not the time for either of you to visit Asgard. Eventually…"

"Yeah, not happening, Thor. Neither Jane nor I really care about timing. We have just gone through a fucking horrible ordeal and we are not going to allow you to just leave us here. Not again, not happening, no way, no how." Darcy stood from the table, walking quickly to the sink to dump her now cold coffee. If Thor actually thought he could dissuade either of them, well he was delusional.

"But Darcy…"

"No buts Thor, this is just the way it is going to be. I'm done with you leaving me on Earth. I'm not going to sit idly by, waiting for you to decide that it is worth your time to visit me. Hell, even now you're here because of Loki and Liadain, not me. Last time you didn't even drop into just say hi.

"No, Darcy and I are going, end of discussion." The clank of Jane's coffee cup slamming down on the table echoed through the lab. She crossed her arms over her chest, glowering at Thor, just daring him to disagree again.

"Jane, really now…"

"Oh shut up Thor. You might as well just agree and let them come. You know you are never going to win this. Mother will want to meet them anyway, so it is best just to bring them now instead of having to come back for them. You know Mother will nag you until you do anyway.

"And Odin, well he will just have to deal with it, won't he?" Loki laughed at Thor's exasperation. He loved to annoy him, though he did know he was correct. Mother would harass Thor until he returned for both women.

"Will you three let me actually speak?!" Thor breathed out a sigh as he looked between Jane and his brother's lover. He really had no chance at all.

"Fine, you win. We shall leave within the next couple of days." Thor had to control the urge to roll his eyes at the bright, smug smiles that spread across both Jane and Darcy's faces.

"It is time we returned home ourselves, Sister." Bronwen reached over, setting a hand over that of her sister's. The others had already returned to their various realms, and Bronwen longed to see the citadel she shared with her sister again. Earth no longer felt like home, and that saddened her more than she could ever say.

Rhonwen pulled her hand from her sister's, turning her whole body to face Clint. For the first time since she lost Gethin, she felt complete.

"I will follow you if you wish." Clint slipped a hand over Rhonwen's face, his fingers threading through her hair. He would give up his life on Earth; give up his work with SHIELD, all to follow her if she would allow him. He had never thought he would feel such a way, but as he looked upon the woman he loved, Clint knew he would do anything just to stay by her side.

"I know you would." Rhonwen turned her head just enough to place a kiss on his palm before turning to looked to her sister.

"I believe that it is finally time for our paths to diverge from each other. I shall be remaining on Earth…with Clint." Rhonwen felt Clint pull her into his arms, his hands coming to rest across her stomach.

"Not that I'm not happy for you and everything, but…how do you plan on fitting in when you look like that? Not that you don't look beautiful, it is just, well you look like a cross between a Tolkien elf and a nineteen-eighty's fantasy character." Of course she also looked pretty normal compared to the way she had seen some people dress. If people could dress like vampires every day, why not glam elves?

Rhonwen chuckled, removing herself from Clint's arms. Without a word the lines which she had been born with faded from her face, her ears shortening and rounding, hair shortening to a more normal length. Even her clothes changed, her dress molding to her in a pair of skinny jeans and fluttery blouse, her slippers into high heels.

"If you could do that all along why haven't you before?" Darcy was pretty shocked, though she knew she shouldn't have been. Magic, duh!

"Had there been a need I would have done, but Clint prefers my real form, and it is the way I am the most comfortable." It had been a long time since she had used a glamour, she hated hiding her true form, but she also knew that she would need to if she planned to remain on Earth.

Bronwen nodded her head, taking the couple of steps to her sister and pulling her into a hug.

"Is this what you truly want then?" It would be hard being without her sister, but if it meant the happiness of her twin, Bronwen would learn to live with it. It was probably time she found a mate of her own anyway.

"Yes, Sister, this is what I want. Who knows, maybe I will even try my hand at the whole superhero thing. I am sure the Avengers might have room for someone on their team with my talents." Rhonwen pulled back with a breathy giggle and looked at a laughing Clint beside her.

"We sure do, and believe me; I can't wait for you to meet them all. Tony is really going to get a kick out of you." And he was going to get a kick out of watching Rhonwen annoy the hell out of Tony.

"Then I wish the best for you both, and you have my blessing. Take care of my sister, Clint Barton." Bronwen clasped Clint's hand, grasping tightly.

"I would die before I allowed anything to ever harm her."

"Then I should take my leave. Goodbye my Sister, may the Mother shelter you, grace you with the bounty of berry and babe, and may death forever be barred from your dwelling. And may you always smile. Keep your threads strong until we meet again."

"Keep your threads strong and untangled my Sister."

Everyone watched quietly as Bronwen quickly slipped away knowing that her going was only the first of many goodbyes.

* * *

 

It was two days later when Thor decided it was finally time to leave. Clint and Rhonwen had left the day before, and no one wanted to stretch anything out further. Not to mention Jane feared Fury trying to stop her from going, stating her contract with SHIELD and obligation to him and the organization.

The four stood in the middle of the desert, where Thor and Loki had found themselves from the beginning. Darcy and Jane both held a bag a piece, though Thor explained everything they could ever want would be provided on Asgard. Darcy just shook her head at him and walked off with her bag slung over her shoulder.

"So, do we have to say some sort of magical words or something?  _Higgledy piggledy Kalamazoo_?" Darcy shrugged her shoulders as the three beside her raised their brows at her.

"Darcy, Kalamazoo? Really?" Jane shook her head at her friend and adjusted the bag on her shoulder.

"Well I don't know, I'm not magical, I do keep telling people this." Darcy stuck out her tongue and leaned back into Loki, pouting when she realized he was laughing.

"Just grab a hold of my hand and Loki's."

Darcy shrugged her shoulders again and took one of Loki's hands and then one of Thor's. Still not knowing how they were going to get to Asgard, Darcy opened her mouth to speak. Only before she could utter a word, Thor grabbed Jane's hand and the Earth seemed to fall away only to be replaced with a dark sky full of stars and a very hypnotic rainbow bridge. Or what was left of it.

Darcy's eyes grew wide as she looked towards the large gates to the city, the gates that looked to be miles away.

"Um, you really don't expect us to walk all that way right? Because, and I'm really getting tired of saying this, but I am MORTAL! I think my legs might actually fall off. Nope, that's it, one of you will just have to carry me." Darcy crossed her hands over her chest, setting her mouth into a determined line.

"Do not worry Lady Darcy, four of the finest horses have been provided for you."

Darcy spun around with a rather embarrassing squeak, her arms falling slack at her sides at the sight before her. She had thought Thor was tall and built, she had been wrong. The man in the, rather excessive she thought, armor made Thor look like a little kid. He also scared the hell out of her. The man seriously radiated power and control.

"What?"

"Horses, my Lady. I made sure to have them sent once the decision of your and Lady Jane's arrival had been made." The man gestured towards the horses behind him, and though he didn't outwardly laugh, you could see the humor in his eyes.

"Right, ok, alright, um thank you…um big scary man in the over-the-top gold armor that I don't know the name of."

The man did laugh that time, the sound much like velvet and dark chocolate. It made Darcy shiver down to her toes. A shiver that turned into full on tremors when he stepped forward and after grabbing her hand made a short bow.

"My name is Heimdall, M'lady." Heimdall placed a single kiss on Darcy's hand, stepping away and standing tall at the low grow that came from Loki. He only raised a brow at the fallen prince before pointing to the horses once again.

"Your parents await you Thor, the Queen is most eager to meet the two mortal women."

Loki threw a look over his shoulder at Thor, one that very much said I told you so, and without waiting for anyone else, grabbed Darcy's hand and mounted her up on a horse in front of him.

"Loki, there are enough horses for all of us." Darcy laughed, turning her head to look at the man behind her.

"Yes, there is, but you don't know how to ride a horse. Remember the story you told me about your stay at your cousin's ranch the summer before your senior year?"

Sadly she did remember, telling him as well as that crappy summer. Her cousin had thought it would be a good idea to go for a horse ride one afternoon. Darcy hadn't lasted five minutes on her horse before she had been thrown off and had broken an arm and a leg both. She spent the rest of the summer with her aunt watching crappy seventies soap operas.

"Yes."

"Well considering that you would end up falling into a dark abyss filled with unspeakable evils if you fell instead of dirt, I think it might just be the best idea if you rode with me."

A little ways away, three others watched on with rolling eyes. Thor took Jane's hand, and together they mounted up beside the other two. With a nod to Heimdall, they headed off towards the gates.

* * *

 

The hall was completely silent as the two princes entered, a couple of mortal women by their side. Odin and Frigga stood before the throne, a frown and smile on their faces respectively.

Frigga seemed to fly down the dais, rushing towards her sons. One by one she gathered them into her arms, kissing cheeks, crying and babbling about how happy she was they were both safe. Once the two were sufficiently embarrassed she turned to Darcy and Jane.

"Jane Foster, I have heard much about you. And Darcy Lewis, I hope to hear the same about you. Come both of you." Much to everyone's, well all but Loki's, surprise Frigga gathered the two women in her arms.

"Frigga, let the ladies go. I have much I wish to discuss with them, such as why they are here in the first place." Odin stepped down from his throne, his disapproval showing on his face.

"Oh Husband, do shut up. Our sons are alive and well, and they bring with them brides. There is nothing left to discuss besides when I will finally be getting grandchildren."

While everyone looked on with wide, shocked eyes, Loki just laughed. As he had said, Odin would just have to deal.


	18. Epilogue

Time was a funny thing, Darcy mused. A funny, annoying, ever changing thing. So much could happen in five minutes and yet nothing at all in five hundred years. In Darcy's case a lifetime of things happened in the span of five years.

The happy little gathering their first welcome to Asgard started as quickly turned to madness as Odin called forth his guards to arrest Loki. Darcy had tried to stop it, lunging forward to the closest guard, but was stopped as Thor caught her by the waist. He had gathered her up to his chest and held her tight as she screamed at them to let Loki go.

Loki had only given her a small smile and held out his arms. He stood there calmly as they clasped shackles on his wrists and a collar around his neck, chaining him up like some dog. In that moment Darcy learned to really hate. And Odin was her target.

Darcy and Jane had been led to a set of chambers then, locked in by the guards under the pretense of it being for their own safety. Darcy knew Jane hadn't remained locked up for very long, not after Thor had rallied for his love. She had gone to stay in his chambers before the night was out. Darcy on the other hand had curled herself up on her bed and cursed out Odin until she fell into a restless slumber.

For months after Loki remained confined to his glass prison, Odin refusing to even hear of his release or redemption. During that time Darcy would visit him, pulling up a chair to the window of the cell and spend her days speaking with him.

She had no care for the fine things she had been provided with. Dresses of silk and velvet, fruits and salted meats from the farthest realms, jewels and even a servant to attend to her every need. None of them mattered to her, and she felt as though Odin had been trying to buy her off. She had only begun to utilize those things once she had found out it had been Thor and Frigga to provide them. Odin it seemed wanted nothing to do with the mortal women his sons loved.

By the time a year had passed Darcy had had enough. She had seen Loki every day; she had even taken to sleeping on a pallet on the floor outside the cell. But Odin had refused to allow her inside, and the tension was getting to both her and Loki. The need to touch, to taste, to simply hold one another was great. It was driving them both mad.

Things finally changed when Asgard received a few very special visitors. On the morning of the four hundredth day of Loki's imprisonment all of Asgard woke to find some fifty Weavers and one human within the halls of their palace.

For days on end Odin was forced to hear testimonies from Rhonwen and her kin about what Loki had done to help rid the Nine Realms of Liadain, and save then universe. And to Darcy's surprise, even Clint spoke. Though he swore he had done it purely for her benefit.

Before a month was out Loki had been declared redeemed and was released. Darcy had her suspicions as to the precise nature of the Weaver's visit, but if Rhonwen had woven for Odin neither Jane, nor Thor, nor even Frigga seemed to care.

Things changed after that. Darcy had moved into Loki's chambers, and no one saw them for almost a month later. Both Darcy and Jane took more of an active position on Asgard, learning about their new home and what would be expected of them as the future wives of the princes.

That in itself had been an ordeal, though Darcy could no longer care about the trials it took to get where she was now, seated at the head table with her new husband by her side and a golden headpiece on her head.

She looked around at all those gathered to celebrate the wedding and coronation of both of their princes and their new wives. It had been a long road to get where she was. Odin had not been too keen on his sons marrying mortals, nor had he been on allowing them to become Aesir. In the end his sons had won and Jane and Darcy had not only eaten the golden apples, but had become Princesses of Asgard.

Darcy smiled as she caught sight of an old friend. Though she had remained on Asgard for the past five years, Darcy had been able to keep in touch with Clint, through Rhonwen of course.

Just as life had changed for her, so too had it for her friends. Rhonwen had, as she suggested, become a member of the Avengers. She had proved herself to be an invaluable addition, not just when it came to protecting the world, but also keeping certain members in line. Clint had even confessed to her that she had woven for Fury a few times when he had been unreasonable.

Clint and Rhonwen had married not long after they returned to Earth from Asgard. Tony Stark had made a bit of a spectacle of it, decorating the entirety of his tower, inside and out, for it. Clint had told her there had even been a fifty foot ice swan and the wedding cake had weighed several hundred pounds. Apparently it had taken up most of one floor of the tower. She had been sorry she missed it, but she had been a little preoccupied at the time, what with Loki refusing to allow her out of bed for more than five minutes at a time.

Her friend now sat at a table reserved for the Avengers and Weavers that had been invited. She laughed as she watched Clint try to settle his little girl, Anya, as she tried to crawl under the table to her Uncle Tony.

Anya was only three years old, but she had managed to wrap all of the Avengers around her little fingers. Clint had told her about how Tony could never say no to her, and how that ended up with Anya's third birthday present being a child-sized working hovercraft, not to mention an entire floor of Avengers Tower being turned into her very own play kingdom. Rumor was Tony was working on an actual child-sized castle for her fifth birthday party, complete with everything his little princess could ever want or need. The kid was seriously Darcy's new hero.

A little down at table, next to her sister, Bronwen sat. There was a marked difference in the Weaver, namely the fact that the woman was actually smiling and laughing.

Life had changed too for the quieter Weaver, and it seemed for the better. She had left that morning, returning to the citadel where she remained alone for the next year. It wasn't until she had arrived on Asgard to vouch for Loki that things changed. That change being the handsome Weaver by her side, his hand resting along her swollen belly. Idwal, she had been told, Liadain's son and executioner.

Turning away from her friends, Darcy looked to the man beside her. Loki was laughing and drinking, his eyes bright with his laughter.

For all the changes that had occurred, Loki changed the least. Oh, he no longer tried to comment genocide or take over her birth planet, but that didn't mean anything really. Darcy could never help but laugh when they said he was redeemed, for she knew the truth.

Darcy remembered a long ago conversation with Rhonwen, and she knew the truth of the Weaver's words to that day. Loki was chaos. He wasn't evil, or misunderstood. He was the balancer, and she would never want him to be any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Though I didn't mention them in this, I did make a wedding jewelry set for both Darcy and Jane that they were supposed to be wearing in this. The pics can be found on my Tumblr, Rhiannon_A_Christy.

**Author's Note:**

> Liadain is part of a group of original characters that I created years ago, and are actually part of my fantasy world. I thought I would go ahead and use them in this story because…well because I wanted an excuse to write them, they are so much fun to write!
> 
> I have posted supplemental things for this story on my Tumblr under the same name as here, mainly pictures of the jewelry I have created for this story.
> 
> Liadain is pronounced LEE-din, it is Irish and is a variant of Liadan. It means "Grey Lady"
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


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